The Fallen Keeper
by Emerald Reader
Summary: Hermione is a new healer on the reserve in Romania. She wants a fresh start and new adventures. But she doesn't expect Charlie to be her first patient. Will he survive the dragon attack? Will Hermione be be able to handle it if he doesn't?
1. Chapter 1

"Today's the day," said Lucas as he finished up his breakfast of eggs and toast.

Charlie grinned back at him, "Yeah mate, it is. I reckon it'll be an easy move though. Those blokes from the reserve in Wales said she's pretty even tempered for a Horntail." He wasn't worried at all. This was supposed to be an easy transfer and then he can get back to the hatchling keep, his favorite place on the reserve. There was something magical about the way dragons hatched that fascinated Charlie, there was nothing more beautiful than watching a baby dragon make its way out of the egg and see the world for the first time.

The pair got up from the table and left Charlie's small hut making their way to the Hungarian Horntail cage. They arrived just in time to see their new dragon be guided over the mountains into the reserve. Seven trained keepers slowly flew alongside the dragon, keeping it harnessed with unbreakable rope, one of a dragon keepers most valued items. Charlie and Lucas were in charge of the ground team to make the dragon's transition as quick and safe as possible and much to Charlie's displeasure, there was a rookie on the team. His name was Davis and he had only been a trained keeper for a few months. He wasn't seasoned like the rest of them, he didn't innately know when to dodge a stream of fire or a flying tail. He was reckless and careless. He was a hazard.

Charlie was one of the best tamers on the Romanian reserve; he seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to dragons. He knew when to dodge, when to duck, and when to dive. He rarely flinched and always had his head about him.

That's why when things started going south with the transfer, everyone looked to him.

As the Horntail started to land she realized she was in unfamiliar territory and began to get angry. Very, very angry. And an angry Horntail was dangerous Horntail. "Stunners on three!" yelled Charlie, wand at the ready. Simultaneously nearly fifteen stunners were shot at the dragon, usually enough to get it down. It didn't work. After shaking off the spells, the dragon brought its head back and let out a large burst of fire. She roared sending flames into the sky at the keepers still around her on brooms. The men tried stupefying the creature once more, but they were again unsuccessful.

"Damn Welsh liars!" shouted Lucas as he dodged yet another breath of fire. She was a nasty dragon. Charlie was focused on getting this dragon down; he was throwing unbreakable rope trying to bring down her neck in an attempt to stop the fire. The other keepers had successfully roped together her wings, preventing her from flight. Thank Merlin, thought Charlie, if the beast could fly we'd all be killed. Frowning he realized that her tail had gotten loose. This was getting more dangerous by the second. He nearly had her neck roped down for the fourth time, as the angry dragon kept yanking it out of the ground, when he heard a terrified scream. Davis, the rookie, was about to get himself skewered on the deadly tail.

Charlie ran towards him shouting to move but Davis was petrified with fear. Charlie heard Lucas scream something in the back of his mind but it was drowned out by his need to save his fellow keeper. He managed to push Davis out of harm's way when he was suddenly airborne. Their best tamer was hit. His name was screamed by the other tamers as he was flung off towards the ground, pain flooding his system. He faintly heard footsteps running towards him before another agonizing pain shot through his back. Everything in Charlie's world began to get fuzzy as his vision blurred to black.

"So Hermione, how did your first night go?" asked Maggie, head healer on the reserve. "I know the first couple of nights can be lonely." Hermione smiled at the other woman, she was feeling a bit homesick, but at the same time, she was glad to be away.

"It was alright, thanks, but honestly? I'm grateful for the fresh start. Things back home didn't go so well after the war, but the past is the past and I'm ready to see what living on a dragon reserve is like. I've always been curious about them after the Triwizard Tournament back in my fourth year." That wasn't a total lie, however, Hermione also wanted to get as far away from Ron as possible. He'd let the fame and money get to his head and Hermione couldn't take it anymore. The Ronald Weasley she fell in love with fifth year was long gone and she was finished waiting for him to come back.

Since their breakup things had been tense at the Burrow, especially between Hermione and Mrs. Weasley, who was planning Ron and Hermione's wedding from the moment Hermione walked through her door. Thankfully, Harry and Ginny announced their engagement shortly after, shielding Hermione from a full berating.

Hermione was pulled from her thoughts by screams coming from the reserve. Looking nervously at Maggie, Hermione pulled out her wand and began to rise, flashing back to the war. "Don't go. I expect we will be needed here shortly." She wasn't wrong. Nearly a half an hour after the chaos began two tamers Hermione knew to be Justin Smith and Miles Brown rushed into the clinic levitating a burned and bloodied body. "It's Charlie," murmured Justin, his voice wavering.

The two female healers jumped up and began working immediately once Charlie was placed on the nearest bed. Hermione calmly did what she was trained to do, muttering spells and waving her wand in precise movements. She worked best under pressure, which is why she was chosen to move to a dragon reserve. Once the two witches stabilized the redhead, Maggie moved onto the other wounded tamers and left Hermione to finish up with Charlie.

She carefully administered another blood replenishing potion before moving onto his burns and bruises. Gently she peeled off his bloodied clothes and scourgifyed his body. Hermione frowned at the extent of the damage Charlie sustained; his front was covered in dark red and purple bruises while his back was covered in both a severe burn and a large wound from the dragon's spiked tail. Gritting her teeth, she massaged various burn and healing balms onto Charlie's wounds. She would need to reapply them every few hours because his injuries were so intense.

Hermione was again reminded of the war when she thought back to the time spent in the Great Hall after Fred had died. She couldn't bear the thought of the Weasley's losing another son and if Hermione had her way, they weren't going to.

"Is he going to be okay?" questioned Miles, afraid to hear the answer. To see Charlie, one of the greatest tamers the reserve had ever had, go down like that made him incredibly nervous. Miles had seen a lot of injuries in his three years working as a dragon tamer, and this was one of the worst.

Hermione cast another diagnostic spell and felt her face drop at the test results. "Well, he suffered a lot of damage to his back and right shoulder. The spike really tore up his shoulder and he lost a lot of blood and took in a lot of venom. That alone could have killed him. When you add in the effect of the massive burn on his back as well, Charlie Weasley is lucky to be alive." She paused and looked at the three crestfallen tamers before her letting them take in the news. Taking a breath she continued, "Unfortunately, he remains in a coma. He could wake up in a few hours, a few weeks, or a few years. He may never wake up. Maggie and I are doing the best we can to make sure that he survives this."

She knew going in to her profession that she would have to deal with injuries, death, and constant bad news, but she never expected it to be so serious on her second day and especially to a member of her second family. Hermione swore as she watched Charlie's best friends crumble, that she would save him, that he would wake up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Since I forgot last chapter, all recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

"Don't worry about it Maggie, I'll tell the Weasley's." After a near sleepless night, Charlie's burns and bruises had been completely healed and all that remained was a bright white scar stretching from the top of his right shoulder to the middle of his back. In a desperate, exhausted state Hermione and Maggie waited until the morning to inform the Weasley clan, hoping that Charlie would wake up. He was still unconscious when they examined him at dawn and showed no signs of improvement. After checking his vitals for the fourth time Hermione finally sat down to owl Mrs. Weasley.

She quickly penned a brief note saying that Charlie had been hurt and the family was needed immediately at the reserve. Hermione reasoned learning the extent of the injury would be better received in person.

Hermione moved to sit behind the curtains surrounding Charlie's bed. Gently she picked up his hand and rubbed her thumb mindlessly in circles on the top of it. "C'mon Charlie," she intoned quietly, "please, wake up. They need you." Sighing, she summoned quite a few chairs for the Weasley's arrival. A few more silent moments passed before a distraught voice could be heard down the corridor.

"I don't care that visiting hours haven't started yet, my son is in there and I will see him! You will let me in this instant!" Hermione jumped up and hurried to the reception desk.

"Maggie! It's okay! This is Charlie's family! I just owled them the news!" said Hermione in a rush. This was not how she planned for their meeting to go. Truth be told Hermione hadn't spoken to the Weasley's—save for Ginny—since she broke up with Ron nearly a month ago. While she didn't expect it to go perfectly she at least expected them to be let into the clinic.

"Well, alright then, but I'll have to keep it restricted to two visitors at a time after you all hear the news. Got that Hermione?" her boss said pointedly. Hermione nodded and led the sad family to Charlie's bedside.

Taking a calming breath Hermione began to speak. "Please let me explain before you start asking questions, it will be easier this way. Yesterday morning the reserve was receiving a new dragon, a female Hungarian Horntail," She saw Harry visibly flinch at the mention of the dangerous beast.

"Charlie was leading the ground team and it was supposed to be a very easy transport, but the dragon spooked and Charlie was hit by the tail saving the life of another tamer. He was impaled in the right shoulder and was then flung off and fell a considerable distance. He was severely burned before he could be safely removed from the area. We were able to stabilize him and heal the majority of his injuries in a few hours." Hermione paused for a few moments, letting his family come to terms with the news. Mrs. Weasley sobbed into her husband's chest while the rest of the family looked shell shocked, many reliving their time spent during the war. She opened her mouth to continue speaking but was quickly interrupted,

"But why isn't he awake?" asked a teary eyed Ginny.

Hermione felt her eyes begin to mist, "He lost a lot of blood and took in a lot of poison. I'm terribly sorry to have to tell you this but he, um, well, Charlie is in a coma and we don't know when he'll wake up." Hermione felt helpless as she watched this family crumble under the news. Maggie saw the distress on the young healers face and came to her rescue.

"I'm sorry to separate you, but there can only be two visitors at a time until our normal hours begin. Each pair will be allotted fifteen minutes with the patient. If seven of you could please step into our waiting area I will fetch you some tea, coffee, and biscuits." Hermione moved to leave Mrs. and Mr. Weasley alone when she felt a trembling hand on her shoulder. She turned.

"Hermione, I'm terribly sorry for the way I treated you after you and Ron broke up," Molly said softly, sniffling, "but I want to thank you for doing what you did for my Charlie. I trust you did the best you could and I am eternally grateful for it. We would love to see you at brunch one of these weekends, if you can make it." Before she knew it Hermione was pulled into the trademark Weasley hug. Hermione felt relieved. She had missed the crazy Weasley Sunday brunches. Pulling back from the hug Hermione smiled and guided the pair to sit by Charlie's side; he needed the love and she needed to do her rounds.

She made quick work of those, waving her wand efficiently and administering potions to those awake enough to take them. The Hungarian Horntail attack had generated more casualties than Hermione expected; two tamers had to be put in a magical coma so Maggie could heal their intense burns while another, much older keeper had nearly lost his leg to the dragon's deadly tail. It was a miracle that no one had died.

Walking into the waiting room Hermione's heart sank, looking around the room she saw many of her favorite people slowly deteriorate. Clearing her throat softly she asked "Who's next?" Bill and Ginny sprung up in the same instant, both leaving their significant others behind. Wrapping an arm tightly around his baby sister, they slowly walked back in. It was no surprise to Hermione that those two were the second to go in; Charlie was Bill's best friend and Ginny's favorite brother.

Hermione felt helpless. She wanted—needed—to do something more, but at that moment there was nothing she could do except be there for the Weasley family. As Hermione moved back into the main room she heard quiet conversation leaking through the curtains.

"Charlie, please. You need to wake up. You promised you would be there for my wedding, that you and dad would walk me down the aisle. You promised," Ginny's voice shattered and Hermione heard Bill comforting his little sister.

"Don't worry Gin, he'll pull through, you know he will. He's Charlie Weasley, world's greatest dragon tamer, quidditch player extraordinaire, and eternal bachelor. He's strong, he's a fighter. Hell, he wrestles dragons all day for a living." Hermione heard a muffled laugh, Bill's attempt at humor working. "And if that isn't enough, he has Hermione, the brightest witch of her age and your best friend, taking care of him. I have no doubts that she'll be able to cure him. He'll be right as rain soon enough."

Hermione smiled, Bill always seemed to know just what to say to make any of his siblings feel better. Checking the time she was happy to note that normal visiting hours had begun. After informing the rest of the family Hermione quickly checked on Charlie once more before leaving them alone. As she stepped out to speak with Maggie, Hermione was almost trampled by three very worried and very injured dragon tamers.

"Hold it," she said in her healer voice, "why didn't you three let me heal you last night?" she scolded.

"How's Charlie?" asked Lucas sheepishly as he tried to hold back a wince.

"You three will be permitted to see Charlie after I've healed you." she said sternly. "And how are your ribs feeling Mr. Smith?" questioned Hermione. He answered with a slightly pained groan. "I thought so." Ushering the three grown men into the clinic she spent a few minutes healing each one individually before letting them see their injured friend.

"Hermione, how are you doing?" Maggie questioned as she guided her into their break room. Taking one look at Hermione's frazzled expression she ordered her young employee to take a few hours to clean herself up.

"But the Weasley's—''

"Will understand, now go." Unwilling to argue with her boss Hermione returned to her small hut for a shower and quick meal.

When she returned to the reserve clinic she was surprised to find Harry and Ginny waiting for her. As soon as Hermione was close enough she was wrapped in a tight hug with Ginny. "Thank you so much Hermione, Maggie told us that you were up all night making sure that Charlie's burns healed properly. I'm really glad that you're taking care of him, because I know that if anybody can heal Charlie, it'll be you." Hermione just hugged Ginny closer.

"Don't worry, I will get Charlie awake by your wedding if it's the last thing I do. I know he'd be devastated to miss your wedding." Squeezing each other once more, the two girls separated and Hermione quickly hugged Harry.

"I know you will Hermione." Smiling Harry and Ginny disapparated away with a pop.

Before Hermione could step back in four voices could be heard arguing.

"But he's my best mate, c'mon Maggie! Just let us stay a little longer; I thought for sure we'd lost him yesterday!"

"Rules are rules Lucas," responded Maggie.

"You didn't see him fall, it was terrifying," contributed Miles.

"Look, it's time for you to go. I understand your want to be near him, but right now it's time for me to do my job. Maybe if you come back in a few hours I might be quite tired and less inclined to follow the rules." On that note, Maggie nudged the three tamers out and shut the door behind them. She took one look at her new healer and sent her into the hospital,

"I've heard what you're capable of Hermione so from now on Charlie's your main responsibility, got it? You work on getting him better; I can handle the other things around here."

Taking in a deep breath Hermione walked determinedly towards her first case, feeling confident. She could do this. She could cure Charlie in time for Harry and Ginny's wedding, right?


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

Hermione couldn't do it. There was no way she could wake up Charlie in time for the wedding. She only had a month and a half until Harry and Ginny would say "I do" and she was no closer than she had been a month ago, the second day after the accident. She had spent hours in the ministry library and even more in the Hogwarts library to no avail. Even Hagrid was at a loss of what to do. Charlie's condition hadn't changed much and she couldn't figure out why the poison had neither left his system nor killed him yet. Suffice it to say, Hermione Granger was stuck.

Frowning, she continued to chew on her quill deep in thought. Her mind raced trying to discern what was keeping Charlie Weasley in his comatose state. Still nothing jumped out at her. So far Hermione had established that there was something within Charlie keeping the nastier effects of the Horntail's poison from killing him, but that was the extent of it. Even more troubling was the fact that the antidote to the poison did nothing.

After two weeks of no improvements Hermione had made the decision to bring Madam Pomfrey in to help realizing the mediwitch had healed a similar injury in the form of Harry during the Triwizard Tournament. As soon as she'd received permission from Maggie Hermione flooed straight to Hogwarts, determination set deep in her eyes. Stepping out of the green flames she brushed the soot off her navy blue healer robes. Looking up at the shocked Minerva McGonagall she smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry Minerva, but I had no time to tell you I was coming, it's urgent." Hermione still found it slightly unnerving to call Professor McGonagall by her first name even after four years had passed.

"What could be so important that you didn't even have time to send a patronous?" the headmistress asked her favorite pupil, her concern evident.

"I need to speak with Poppy; it has to do with Charlie." Understanding flashed through Minerva's gaze as she sent the young healer on her way. She had always held a soft spot for the second Weasley.

As Hermione rushed to the hospital wing a half smile half grimace appeared on her face as she recalled just how many times she'd made this particular journey. Bursting through the large doors she breathed a sigh of relief at all the empty beds. Privacy in this case was crucial.

"Miss. Granger, to what do I owe this visit?" asked the older woman. Hermione quickly and succinctly explained the situation to the hospital matron. Madam Pomfrey paled before hurrying into her office. She returned just as swift with a few potions held in her hands. First she gestured to a thick, bright red potion, "This is a modified blood replenishing potion, give Mr. Weasley a dose of this every six hours for twenty four hours before giving him a dose of this," she pointed to a chunky green potion, "which will hopefully neutralize the poison in his system. After that is administered, wait twelve hours and give him one dose of this," she instructed holding up a small vial of a pale silver liquid, "to flush out the poison."

"Will it work?" questioned Hermione, not wanting to get her hopes up. At that question Hermione saw the other woman's face droop.

"I would like to think so Miss. Granger, but from what you've told me, there seems to be an exceptionally large amount of venom in his system. I'm hoping it will remove most, if not all, of it from him but I cannot be sure. Please let me know how this works." said the healer somberly.

When Hermione returned to the reserve she began the treatment immediately, however it only succeeded in removing half of the venom from Charlie's bloodstream. At that time Hermione was merely disappointed, but now she was crestfallen and at a loss for what else to do.

She had tried spells, potions, even a few muggle techniques, but nothing worked. But she was not to be deterred, Hermione had a goal and she would meet it. She was the brightest-witch-of-her-age and knew that if anyone could find a cure, it would be her. For now though, she had resigned herself to knowing that Charlie would not be there at Ginny's wedding. There was no use trying risky ways to help him and potentially cause more harm. Instead, Hermione spent a few hours each day with Charlie.

Knowing that those in a comatose state could sometimes reverse the damage to their minds if people talked and interacted with them, Hermione made sure to do so. She, along with Lucas, Justin, Miles, and Maggie, had made it their personal mission to do everything in their power to bring back their fallen comrade. Though the group was fully aware that reversing the damage by these means was extremely rare, they did not think twice about giving up.

Every night at dinner Hermione would sit in the uncomfortable wooden chair beside Charlie's bed and eat whatever meal Molly had sent with Hermione back to the reserve after Sunday Brunch. After the fateful day Hermione had begun attending the Weasley brunches and became a much bigger part of the family. She had also been updated on the entire family most notably that Bill and Fleur were expecting another child while Ron and his girlfriend, Luna, decided to move in together. Harry and Ginny's wedding continued to approach and Hermione had been named Maid of Honor much to her delight.

This particular night Hermione was again perched at Charlie's bedside. "Hi Charlie," she started, "today I went dress shopping with Ginny for the wedding. It's only a month away now. The bridesmaids' dresses are a lovely shade of green and Ginny has out done herself making sure each one of us bridesmaids' feels comfortable in our dresses. You would be proud of what a young woman your sister has become. She picked out her wedding gown today as well, you know. She's going to look stunning as she walks down the aisle; I can assure you of that. Though I must say it was a bittersweet moment as she put on The Dress, she was brought to tears instantly, but they were a mix of happy and sad. She misses you, her big brother, in fact, they all do." Hermione trailed off, disappointment flooding her system.

Disappointment at her failure to heal Charlie, disappointment at Ginny's less than perfect wedding day, and disappointment at Charlie having to miss his only sister's wedding. Hermione was torn inside, never had she been met with a problem that she couldn't fix. Until now. She felt useless and stupid; she felt like a failure.

Sighing dejectedly Hermione began to sing. She loved singing, she always had. It was something other than books that made her feel both alive and at peace with herself. It also helped clear her mind.

Many nights Maggie had gone into the infirmary to check on Hermione to find the young healer singing softly to her patient. On those nights Maggie would silently exit, leaving the pair to themselves. One night Lucas had stumbled into the room and Hermione had instantly quieted, only to start up again immediately after hearing that Charlie used to fondly reminisce about his mum singing him to sleep as a boy when he was sick. Since then, Hermione could be found singing to him frequently.

And that's when she figured it out. At least she thought she did. Hopefully with some minor potion work Hermione would finally be able to eradicate the poison from Charlie Weasley and wake him from his coma. Jumping up she set off in a hurry towards her private potions lab, ingredients flashing through her mind like lightning. Trapping her bushy hair into a neat plait, she got to work.

The following morning found Hermione meticulously stirring a bright green potion sixteen times counterclockwise. After the last stir the potion turned a muted version of the green and a grinning Hermione placed a stasis charm upon the cauldron.

Hermione was elated. She felt quite confident that she had finally cracked her case, nearly completely positive the cure had been found. Hermione allowed herself a small moment of childish celebration. As she calmed she realized that if she didn't get a move on she would miss Sunday Brunch.

Downing a Pepper-Up potion Hermione rushed back towards her small hut and straight into her shower. She knew working over a steaming cauldron did horrid things to one's hair and complexion, Professor Snape being a perfect example. No one needed to see hair that greasy or skin so oily ever again. Jumping out of the shower and spelling herself dry, Hermione dressed quickly. As she set herself ready to floo over to the Burrow, she made the decision to keep quiet about the possible cure. There was no reason to raise anyone's hopes incase it didn't work.

As she stepped into the green flames Hermione felt the first real smile she'd had in ages appear on her face. Perhaps, she thought, everything might actually work out for once.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

As Hermione stepped out of the emerald green flames she was immediately enveloped in a warm embrace from Mrs. Weasley. She returned it readily and smiled as the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of the Burrow took over her senses. Moving into the bustling kitchen Hermione noticed that she was the last to arrive and took her seat sandwiched between Bill and Harry, with a sleeping Teddy nestled in his arms.

"All right everyone, tuck in!" Tinkling and clanking cutlery along with many conversations filled the air and Hermione slowly started feeling like herself again. Turning slightly she took up a conversation with Bill and Fleur on the curse breaking work the husband and wife pair had been doing in Egypt. Hermione found the subject fascinating and if she hadn't spent that fateful year living in a tent hunting horcruxes, she was sure she would be a cursebreaker.

"So Hermione, how's Charlie?" A nervous hush fell across the elongated table as a few pointed glares were shot towards the speaker. "What? You all want to know, I just figured it would be better to get it out in the open now." stated Ronald Weasley, a bit of food still lingering in his mouth.

Trying not to roll her eyes Hermione sighed. "Well, I was planning on bringing this up later, but as Ron so eloquently put it, you all are want to know. And you all have a right to." She paused unsure how to proceed. Hermione wasn't ready to inform the family of what might not even work. She decided to go with an abridged version of the truth. Not quite a lie, but not quite the truth. But, she reasoned, sometimes it was better to lie. At least that's what she kept telling herself.

"As I told you last Sunday, the treatment that effectively healed Harry was not completely successful on Charlie and that was a result of the sheer amount of poison in his system. Currently, the ratio of blood to venom is seventy-five to twenty-five which is much, much better. Unfortunately, Madam Pomfrey told me that I could only administer one dose of the cure every two months because the potion might react adversely and start removing his blood from the poison, not the other way round.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but in a few weeks I'll give him the second round and he should be okay." Stepping out of healer mode Hermione looked around at her second family and frowned. She hated not being able to do more to help.

Ron opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by a fierce look from Ginny. Hermione felt relieved, she wasn't sure she could handle his berating attitude today. She mouthed Ginny "thank you" across Harry. The rest of Sunday brunch passed in relative ease, mostly due to the protective barrier that was Teddy. Hermione had learned early on that as long as she held her best friend's godson, no one would provoke her.

Much to her relief, it was finally time for her to depart back to Romania. Though she was slightly reluctant to admit it, Hermione had become very fond of Romania and those who inhabited the reserve, both human and reptilian. After saying her many farewells and promising Harry, Ginny, and Teddy that she would visit for dinner next week, Hermione left through the floo once more.

Inhaling deeply as she entered her small, but homely, hut Hermione grinned happily. She had come to appreciate the peacefulness of the reserve's living quarters and relished her return after a Weasley brunch. Normally she would curl up on her small couch in front of the warm fire and catch up on some reading, but not today.

Today she had a mission.

Changing into a pair of dragon hide boots and matching vest she grabbed her gloves and made her way towards the hatchling keep. It was her favorite place on the reserve; she loved watching the baby dragons. She also loved the way fully grown dragon tamers could be reduced to roughly brushed away tears at the sight of a hatching; it warmed Hermione's heart.

The first night she ever went into the hatchling keep was three weeks after the attack. She was a mess. In her eyes, there was nothing more she could do. If Poppy was unable to cure Charlie, how would she? It was nearly one in the morning when Lucas found her bleary eyed and emotionally distraught beside Charlie. Unfamiliar in dealing with upset women, Lucas did the only thing he could think of: he hugged her. Initially Hermione had stiffened but eventually he felt her crumble into him and she began to cry in earnest. Mildly uncomfortable, Lucas let Hermione cry and gently stroked her hair.

Once she had calmed, Lucas gently tugged her upwards and took her by the hand out of the medical clinic. Hermione was too drained to protest and followed behind, her interest peaked. Once they had reached the hatchling keep and sat down beside the incubators Hermione asked why they were there.

"Well," explained Lucas, "we can all see how cut up you are about not being able to heal Charlie and since this is his favorite spot I figured you might benefit from spending some time here, you know? To get a bit of Charlie, to maybe see what he sees, understand something about him." He grinned crookedly, "And if none of that works, you can at least have something to talk about with him once he wakes up."

"I, um, thanks," muttered Hermione shyly.

"Don't worry about it." he replied. "Now, I'll leave you to get acquainted. I'll be back in a bit."

Alone, Hermione pulled herself and her thoughts together and took a look around. In front of her were twelve incubators, each housing an egg. She got up and began to walk around noting that each egg was slightly different from the others of the same breed. Some were darker than others while some had brighter colors than others. She made a note to ask Lucas when he returned. As she reached the end of the row her brown eyes were drawn to a smaller than average egg, tinted gold covered with fiery red lines and speckles that reminded her of spilled ink on parchment.

She was still mesmerized by the little dragon egg when Lucas returned. "I see you've found Firecracker, our smallest egg this year. The mother was sick, that's why it's so little. If the egg comes from a healthy dragon it's much bigger and has more gold in it. The same goes for all the eggs here, either the egg itself is sick or the mother is sick, they won't look right. That's how the keeper's know to bring them to the keep. The mother's won't care properly for their young, so we have to raise them. It's right sad actually." He looked down at Hermione and noticed she looked worse than before, "Alright, Miss. Granger, I think it's time to go to bed."

After that night Hermione and Lucas had formed a brother sister type relationship and become very close very quick.

Now though, she was on her way to visit her favorite hatchling, Firecracker. She was a small Chinese Fireball who had immediately taken to Hermione. The young dragon was slow to start the hatching process and the other keepers had assumed she was dead, but Hermione had a feeling and refused adamantly when they tried to remove the egg. She wasn't wrong. Nearly a full week after the other eggs began rolling Firecracker exhibited her first tosses and turns. Everyday Hermione would spend her break with Firecracker and then sit next to the comatose ginger and tell him all about it.

Hermione spent fifteen minutes rubbing the tiny dragon's belly and playing with the little creature before heading over to the clinic.

Walking in she felt apprehensive, she feared that Maggie would reject her modified potion. She found her boss quickly waving her wand over a grimacing tamer. An angry burn streaked across the upper part of his tan arm. She waited until the healer finished her work and sent her patient home before broaching the subject.

"I modified the cure that Madam Pomfrey gave me and I think that it will safely cure Charlie. If it doesn't wake him, I think it will at least remove the rest of the Horntail venom from his system." Hermione pushed her notes toward Maggie and watched as a small smile appeared on her face. She looked away as hazel eyes met her brown ones.

"Well Healer Granger, I think this just might work." Hermione sagged in relief. "Can it be administered now?" asked the head healer. At Hermione's nod, she rose and moved towards Charlie's bed.

Shaking nervously Hermione gave Charlie a dose of the first potion, then the second, now a much more muted green, and finally a drop of the shimmery silver liquid. Now she waited, her breath held tight inside her like the air trapped in a balloon. She felt that at the slightest moment she would pop and all the oxygen inside her would flow out of her. Her vine wand was clutched so tight in her hand that her small knuckles were a pale white.

And then it happened.

It was subtle, something only a trained healer would notice. It was a tick, a near imperceptive shudder that indicated one thing and one thing only: Charlie Weasley was breathing. On his own. Hermione's heart leapt into her throat. A strained groan erupted from Charlie as he struggled to uncover his eyes.

"Welcome back to the land of the living Mr. Weasley," said Maggie through her vibrant smile. Hermione sighed audibly, relief flooding her veins like a drug.

Pale blue eyes shifted from Maggie over to Hermione. "Who are you?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

Relief crashed over Hermione in huge waves. It worked, it really worked. Charlie was awake and she felt like Harry just defeated Voldemort all over again.

"Hermione Granger." she answered him. Hermione watched as his brows wrinkled in confusion and Maggie stepped in to help once more.

"Charlie, Hermione is a new healer on the reserve. In fact she has been your personal healer since your unfortunate accident."

"My accident?" questioned the red head, "And why does that name sound familiar?" As Hermione started waving her wand and muttering quickly under her breath Maggie inhaled deeply.

"Charlie, do you know who I am?" she asked carefully, at his nod she continued, "Do you know where you are?" That answer also being correct, she asked the most important question, "What is the last thing you remember?"

He moved to answer and instead lurched into a hoarse cough. "Water." he said weakly. Hermione quickly filled a cup with water and stepped to his side putting the cup up to his lips helping him drink. Seemingly satisfied he spoke "I remember waking up and going to breakfast with the guys then heading over to help bring in the new Hungarian Horntail. Now will one of you please explain to me why I feel like I was trampled by a hoard of offended hippogriffs?"

Looking at each other the two healers conversed through a few pointed looks, much to the annoyance of their patient. Finally Maggie conceded and softly told Charlie why he felt the way he did.

"So you're telling me that I got taken down by an angry mother dragon and have been in a coma for a little over a month a half?" At Hermione's timid nod, Charlie instantly paled. As he contemplated his new situation Hermione flicked her wand a few more times before stepping away with her boss.

"His vitals look good, he's still very weak and will be for a while yet. It took a lot out of his body to get him to this point. Unfortunately the potion only reduced the percentage of venom in his blood, now it appears that twenty percent of the original poison remains. I read a lot about the effects of the Horntail's poison and Charlie is no longer in danger of death, so you can stop worrying. Until it's completely out of his system he won't be able to do too much strenuous activity and will tire easily. I'll have him take a reduced dose of the cure every few days until it's completely out of his system. After that, except for the nasty scar on his back, I believe that he'll make a full recovery."

Maggie looked at her employee with pride. "I trusted you with this case Hermione and you did well. I'm very glad you stepped into my clinic when you did. You really are a brilliant healer."

Hermione smiled bashfully before turning to Charlie. She sat in the wooden chair and quickly explained the specifics of his injury before delving into the work she did to cure him. "Now, I want to keep you here for a few days of observation, just to make sure there are no adverse effects of the modified potion. I suspect you will be very weak for the next few weeks, both due to the poison still in your system along with the time you spent comatose." She frowned apologetically, still upset at herself that she wasn't able to cure him faster. With nothing left to say she made to move and let him rest.

He looked up at her and smiled slightly, "Thank you, Hermione. You really are the brightest witch of your age."

"Thank you, now get some rest. I'll be back in a few hours with some dinner for you."

With the stress of healing Charlie reduced to almost nothing, Hermione realized just how exhausted she was. She certainly felt like she could have been trampled by a hippogriff or two. Or maybe three if the slow ache in her head was anything to go by.

"Go take a nap, heaven knows you deserve it. You've worked harder than I have these few weeks." Hermione didn't have the energy to argue and trudged back to her hut not bothering to change before falling asleep on top of her covers.

She woke up a few hours later feeling refreshed and in dire need of a shower. Thirty minutes later Hermione was dressed in her favorite gray cardigan and a pair of muggle jeans on her way back to the clinic, a basket of food hung on her arm. Walking into the room she smiled. Three burly dragon keepers sat around their best friend, relief painted on each of their faces. Hermione laughed softly as she caught the tail end of a particularly graphic description of the attack and the grimace on Charlie's face.

"Alright you lot, time to go. Charlie here needs his beauty sleep."

A few grumbles reached her ears as they filed out with a chorus of "See ya later mate!" and "Glad you're okay!" As soon as he heard the doors shut he sighed loudly and leaned back into his pillows. God, he was exhausted. He hadn't felt this rundown since he worked a thirteen hour day training a stubborn hatchling and even then he could sit upright. He felt pathetic.

"Come on Charlie," Hermione said pursing her pink lips, "don't look so glum. You were unconscious for six weeks. You lost a lot of muscle in that time, not to mention your body was working in overdrive to get that venom out of your system. It's only natural for you to be so tired." She heard him mutter something along the lines of "know it all witch" before he glanced up and noticed the basket in her arms.

"What's that?" he asked curiously.

"Dinner." she stated simply. "From your mum." she added as an afterthought. She dished up two healthy servings of roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans. Hermione watched happily as Charlie delved into one of his favorite home cooked meals. "Your mum has been sending me home after brunch Sunday's with enough food to feed a small army, always making sure that there was a hearty meal for you once you woke. Sweet, really."

"Speaking of that, where is my mum? I figured she'd come bustling in the minute she heard I was awake."

"As did I, which is precisely why I haven't owled her the news yet. I thought we could wait a few days, until you've gotten some of your strength back." Hermione inwardly groaned, hoping she had made the right decision regarding the older Weasley.

"You certainly are as intelligent as they say, aren't you. I appreciate it. I don't think I could manage the family today." he admitted rather crestfallen.

She smiled at him in reassurance. It was completely normal for Charlie to feel the way he did, but it still made Hermione's heart ache for the man she barely knew. Continuing to eat the delicious meal she let her mind wander to the long nights she spent by his side. Did he know she was there? Did he remember anything she said? Frowning, Hermione wasn't sure whether she wanted him to know she was there or not.

Noticing that both she and Charlie had finished, she pulled out a small container of treacle tart. Charlie's eyes widened like a little boy's when he saw his favorite dessert. Hermione sighed as she bit into her sweet and heard a deep chuckle. Looking up she found herself blushing as Charlie stared at her, one red eyebrow raised and a slight smirk on his face.

"Enjoying that, are you?"

A small grin made its way across her face, "It's been a long couple of days and I absolutely adore your mum's treacle tart. It's heavenly."

A large yawn took over Charlie's face masking any response he might have made. "Okay, Mister, time for bed." said Healer Granger. Charlie had no energy left to protest as his eyes drooped closed as he fell into sleep. Hermione absentmindedly started to hum as she cleaned up the remnants of their meal.

She turned her gaze to Charlie once more before she left. He looked so young nestled under the covers sleeping soundly on the pillow. Some of his color had come back, but he was still far too pale. It made him look sick and helpless. She frowned. Hermione couldn't wait until he was back up and running. She wanted to see the Charlie that she had heard so much of but had never really gotten to know.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

"So I was thinking," began Hermione carefully the next evening over dinner, "Ginny's wedding is only a few weeks away, and well, I just thought that maybe, if you wanted of course, to maybe—"

"Spit it out, Hermione."

Her cheeks tinted pink, "I was wondering if you wanted to hold off telling everyone that you're awake and surprise everyone, mostly Ginny, on her wedding day. It's just a thought, I just, well, I think it would make her day even more special." blurted Hermione in a rush. She didn't know Charlie that well, but she hoped what she knew of him was true, that he was the perfect combination of Percy and the twins: serious with a hearty sense of humor. She held her breath tightly, knowing how important family was to the Weasley's; it was their everything. Hermione envied that about them. How when one of their own was in need everyone was there ready to help. There was always hot tea, plenty of food, and always a shoulder to cry on. You were never alone. Someone was always there ready to help in whatever way you needed. Even if you didn't know what it was you needed.

That was something entirely foreign, much like the Wizarding World itself, to Hermione when she first met the boisterous family. Growing up an only child Hermione never knew the tight and intricate connection between siblings. Never known the innate rivalry or the name calling that was only okay within the family, but when done by an outside party was a call to arms. She never knew the power of a hug from a big brother until she met Bill and never quite understood the bond between sisters until she met Ginny.

"I think that is a brilliant idea." Hermione let out a loud breath and he smiled. "I know Gin will love it. She's always loved surprises and I think this will finally top the time Bill surprised her with VIP tickets to see the Holyhead Harpies when she was nine." Happy nostalgia flashed in his eyes, "I mean I'm her favorite brother back from near death to walk her down the aisle to Harry The-Boy-Who-Lived Potter, if this isn't enough I don't know what is." Hermione laughed quietly.

"If it doesn't work, at least we'll have had a few more weeks of Molly Weasley's home cooked meals. That has to count for something, right?" she joked.

"There are few things better than my mother's cooking." replied Charlie seriously. Together they laughed, a harmony of booming laughs and delicate giggles filling the long room.

The next two days saw Hermione and Charlie fall into a routine. First thing in the morning Hermione would gently prod Charlie awake after checking his vitals with a flick of her vine wand before sliding a plate of breakfast in front of him. Then she would leave him to his own devices and a pile of books for most of the day while she went about the duties Maggie assigned her. She wasn't too worried about him though, he appeared very self sufficient for a newly awakened coma patient. Not to mention the constant stream of dragon tamers paying one of their best a visit. Once Hermione finished her shift, she hurried back to change and grab another helping of Molly's delicious food before returning to her spot beside the bedridden Weasley.

For the first time in a few months Hermione felt happy. She had a routine in the place she absolutely adored full of people she cared for and a job she loved. Hermione was in her element and everyone knew it. The young brunette witch radiated a passion for life that seemed to spread to those around her. Her new found passion was most noticeable in Charlie who improved leaps and bounds in the few hours a day he spent with Hermione.

That's why, on the fourth day of their routine, no one was more surprised than Hermione. The pair was sitting as they usually were, Hermione seated on the faded wooden chair pushed as close to the bed without placing the chair atop the mattress and Charlie nestled under the hospital covers leaning towards Hermione as though she was a flower and he was a bumblebee. Hermione's warm gaze was fixed upon Charlie's countenance as he told her the story of the time he was bested by a baby Chinese Fireball, his favorite breed.

"And when I bent down to pick up my wand the little bugger comes barreling right towards me and next thing you know I'm face first in the mud with a baby dragon sitting proudly on my back. Then," he gestured excitedly, "he sneezed! Sent a wave of sparks straight at the back of my head! I had bald spots for weeks!" at the end of his tale Hermione was in stitches as a few tears managed to slip out and fall down her sore from smiling cheeks.

"Get up," Hermione said suddenly, chocolate eyes shining bright. At his reluctance she tugged on his hand. "C'mon! Get up! You can stand, can't you?" He continued to stare at her confused.

"Just get up! You'll like it, I promise!"

With the feel of her hand in his and curiosity heavily sitting in the front of his mind, Charlie slowly and shakily stood up. Quickly she slung an arm around his waist as he gently placed his once muscular arm around her shoulders. She waved her wand and in the place of her wooden chair sat a comfy looking wheelchair. After making sure her patient was comfortable, Hermione took of pushing the wheelchair wildly towards the exit.

"I think it's high time someone around here sprung you!" Hermione laughed gaily, a toothy grin plastered across her face. "And it's been a while since I've broken the rules." As they pushed out onto the reserve Charlie let out a loud whoop, incredibly happy to be outside surrounded by fresh, familiar air.

The pair received many amused glances as it was still light out, but that didn't stop Hermione. They loudly made their way through the reserve without a care in the world, embracing the thrill of breaking the rules. Charlie didn't ask where they were going, instead enjoying the freedom and observing carefree side of his normally serious healer.

Charlie's smile exploded when he realized their destination, the hatchling keep. Entering the keep was surprised to find Lucas on rotation.

"Finally sprung him Hermione?"

"I told you, if you didn't do it that I would."

"But it's only been four days!" said Lucas, outraged, "I was supposed to have a week!"

"Yes, well I changed my mind." responded Hermione dryly, her lips pursed. Glancing down at Charlie's bewildered expression she burst into laughter for the third time that night. It had to be a record for her. She hadn't laughed this much in ages.

"You see Charlie, Hermione here told me the day you woke up that I had a week to spring you from the clinic or she would. What your darling healer failed to realize is that one, Maggie is downright terrifying if you break her rules, and two, it has not been a full week yet! You can't just change your mind and not tell me!" Charlie laughed at this and fell into loud peals of laughter at Hermione's response.

Looking at Lucas in dead seriousness, "But I wanted to spring him _tonight_. I'm an only child. I always get what I want." Lucas opened his mouth to respond and immediately closed it at a loss for words. He repeated his actions again and again before deciding to keep his mouth shut. Shaking his head at his friends' antics Lucas bid them farewell.

"I'll be back in an hour. Don't cause too much trouble."

The door slamming and Hermione's intense laughter rang out simultaneously. "He is so easy to mess with! He's worse than Ron! Now for the reason I brought you here, there is someone I'd like you to meet." Since there wasn't enough space for the wheelchair Hermione pulled Charlie to his wobbly feet and carefully guided him to the last dragon on the left.

"This," she said lovingly, "is Firecracker." Charlie detected a hint of pride in her voice.

"I remember this one," he said quietly, "she was the smallest egg, right?" Hermione nodded. "I thought so. She seems a bit smaller than she should at this stage of development. Everyone thought it wasn't going to make it, but I had a feeling she'd pull through. Her mother was always a bit of a firecracker and guess she decided to follow in her mother's footsteps."

Hermione smiled. "I'm glad someone else believed in her. For a while I was sure I was the only one."

While this was the first thing the pair had in common, it was not the last, it was the beginning.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

Hermione had a long day. Like laundry, her to do list was never quite finished with something always piling on at the last second. It was infuriating. Just as she thought her list complete someone would rush in with a careless injury that would take at least half an hour to take care of. First, she'd have to assess the injury then heal it, occasionally having to grab—or brew—a healing potion. After making sure her patient had a clean bill of health there was always the paperwork. Hermione cursed her inability to leave anything important partially or poorly completed. How she wished she could quickly scribble the answers and send it off to magically file itself, but no. She would go question by question meticulously responding in neat print. On more than one occasion Hermione had tried to short her answers only to find herself returning to them with a heavy sigh. Some things never change.

Her day started off bad and only got worse. She was roused early by a frantic yell and pounding on her door. By the time she made it to the clinic it was swarming with disarrayed dragon keepers. The pungent smell of burning flesh assaulted her nose as she took in the scene before her, immediately jumping into action. Treating injuries specific to the dragon reserve came second nature her now and within the hour everyone was healed. Hermione didn't find out until later that the cause of those injuries was a certain little red and gold hatchling.

Maggie and Hermione just sat down to breakfast when the door to the clinic slammed open presenting an injured Justin supported by Lucas and Miles.

Springing up, "Really boys, we have got to stop meeting like this." She pointed to an empty bed. "Now, what happened this time?"

"Broke his leg trying to feed the Shortsnout breakfast, she's still a little tetchy about her egg. She lunged and Justin here tripped over a rock trying to doge the flames. Could've been much worse."

"Well you know what that means," she said with a smile as she held up a bottle of SkeleGro. She chuckled at their faces, each knowing just how foul the potion really was. She shooed the two uninjured keepers over to Charlie's bed knowing he would enjoy the company.

The next few hours saw a plethora of burns and scratches pass through the small hospital. It left a hint of burnt skin mixed in with the usual antiseptic smell of the place. When her lunch hour arrived Hermione groaned miserably. She noticed there was no more burn paste and began making a new batch because she knew with the way this day was going, they were definitely going to need more. While she was at it Hermione put her potion making and multitasking skills to the test brewing Charlie's antidote, numbing potion, and blood replenishing potion simultaneously. Her four bubbling cauldrons created a very steamy atmosphere and Hermione could hear her hair frizzing. Sweat beaded on her brow as she concentrated intently on the perfect number of clockwise stirs her blood replenishing potion need watching with satisfaction as it turned the right color.

The rest of her day passed in a constant stream of patients. Before she knew it was an hour past the end of her shift and she let out a loud sound of annoyance. On her way out she informed Maggie that she would be in an hour later the next day and dragged herself back to her hut. After a shower and change Hermione made her way slowly back for her dinner with Charlie. Dressed in her favorite polka dotted pajama bottoms and one of Harry's old quidditch shirts she nicked back in fifth year Hermione felt, and looked, extremely exhausted.

Shutting the door softly behind her she trudged her way to the back corner preparing for a few hours seated in an uncomfortable wooden chair. She was pleasantly surprised to find in its place a large, overstuffed red and gold chair.

"I thought after the day you had you might like something a little more comfortable." She melted into the soft cushions, a grateful smile plastered across her face.

"Thank you Charlie, really." The pair engaged in easy conversation for the duration of their meal and it left Hermione feeling much more like herself. As she looked at Charlie she noticed most of his color had returned as had some of the weight he had lost. "How would you like to put this plan of ours into action?" she said happily.

"Sounds fantastic."

"Since you're meant to walk her down the aisle, it won't do for you to be stuck in a bed. First thing on the agenda is to get you up and standing. Then we'll move onto getting you back into tip top shape. Now remember, you've been in this bed for almost two months now. Don't be discouraged if you're a lot weaker than you remember." He nodded and she went to help him up.

He managed to swing his legs over and he slung an arm across her small frame and together they pushed him up into a standing position. Hermione had one arm around his waist and the other hand pressed firmly to his front ensuring he remained upright. At first his knees buckled but Hermione would not be deterred and she held him up until he felt confident on his feet.

"You know," he joked "I imagined my first time standing to be much more masculine and impressive; this is a bit more on the…elderly side." Hermione giggled and gently hit his chest. Unfortunately he was still a bit wobbly and they fell backward onto the bed laughing loudly.

A few moments later Hermione hauled Charlie back to his feet and made sure he was stable this time before slowly removing her arms. His smile was large and infectious.

"Well Mr. Weasley I'd say you are making a miraculous recovery."

"I think it's the food," he jested, smirking at her affronted look, "yes, definitely the food. There is nothing my mum's cooking can't fix." Hermione scowled lightheartedly before yawning loudly. She sat back down in the plush chair.

"Tell me a story."

"Uh, what?" Charlie questioned, caught off guard.

"I healed you, remember? The least you could do is tell me a story." she stated lightly. Oftentimes when she got tired, she got controlling.

"Well I can't argue with that logic." After a few moments of deep thinking Charlie launched into the story of his first day as a dragon keeper. It was funny and he told it well, very emphatic and lively keeping Hermione hanging onto his every word, especially the part where he tried to put out a fire on his supervisor's shirt and was so nervous he accidentally drenched him with water. Charlie also apparently managed to stay out of the hospital the entire first week he was a keeper, quite an impressive feat. As that tale came to an end, Hermione playfully demanded another.

"You are acting like Ginny when she was five years old." He smiled.

"Tell me your favorite childhood bedtime story. Please." Charlie complied easily and began the story of Rupert and his dragon. Rupert was a young freckle faced boy who found an injured dragon in the forest one day. It was a Chinese Fireball who he nursed carefully back to health and they became inseparable. They were best friends. This story started Charlie's affection for the Gryffindor hued dragons.

Hermione wasn't able to hear the end of the children's story; however, because she fell asleep midway through. When he finished talking Charlie was met with soft snores. Smiling at her sleeping form he carefully transfigured the chair into a small couch. He summoned a blanket from the nearest bed and gently covered her with it. Charlie felt the tendrils of sleep pull at his eyelids and he fell into a peaceful slumber.

The following morning when Maggie entered to check on Justin, she was shocked to see her young employee fast asleep in a makeshift bed alongside her patient. A smile formed on her face and she pulled the curtains around the pair shielding them from prying eyes. Maggie couldn't wait until they woke up and realized their sleeping arrangements. She was not disappointed.

Hermione slowly woke up and realized she wasn't in her room, her bed wasn't this comfy. Wiping the sand from her eyes she looked around and let out a strangled yelp that was met with chuckles.

"Morning Hermione!" yelled Maggie while Hermione blushed scarlet.

Feeling eyes on her, she looked up. "Good morning," said Charlie softly, "Sleep well?" She could only nod, thoroughly embarrassed. "By the way, I expect you to stay awake for the whole story next time. The ending is always the best part."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

Despite her rather embarrassing wakeup call Hermione's morning was moving along much smoother than yesterday. Justin's leg had successfully mended over night and was discharged after the other tamers fed the Shortsnout her breakfast. Once he left Maggie wasted no time in making fun of the pair, so much so that Hermione was unable to look at Charlie without a slight flush rising to her cheeks, even though they had done absolutely nothing. It was the principle of the matter. Even though she was off duty she still waged a small moral battle within knowing full well her behavior was allowed, it just didn't feel right to Hermione. Shaking it off, she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on her plans for the day.

"Hey Maggie, I have something to show you." Hermione beckoned to her superior. They reached Charlie's corner of the clinic and Hermione took a quick breath.

"What do you say we show Maggie what you accomplished last night?" Charlie looked apprehensive, it was one thing to be hoisted up by Hermione when they were alone but it was something different all together with an audience. With Hermione, he felt okay if he failed. He felt okay to appear weak. She hadn't seen him, known him, as the strongest dragon tamer on the reserve like Maggie, instead she first saw him at his weakest and there was only one direction to move from there: up. He frowned. Kneeling down Hermione looked him in the eyes, "You don't have to, but I think it would be good. Yes, you aren't at your best, but I think you're doing pretty well for a man who was nearly killed by a severely pissed off Hungarian Horntail."

He nodded, determination slowly spreading across his face.

Maggie watched on in silence as Hermione coerced the red head into a sitting position. The brunette witch squeezed his hands as she pulled him to his feet. As soon as Hermione knew Charlie was stable, she gently removed her hands from his, keeping her eyes locked on his the entire time. She was aware of how vulnerable he felt; he didn't want to fail, he needed to prove to Maggie—and himself—that he was still strong.

"So that's what you two were doing here last night. I never would have guessed." Laughing at the two friend's discomfort Maggie commended Hermione on her work. Hermione really was everything the officials at St. Mungo's had said she was and a heck of a lot more. Maggie truly was grateful for Hermione's secret fascination with dragons.

"Really though Charlie, your recovery is coming along much faster than I expected. Both of you keep up the good work." She bid them farewell and moved along to the rest of her rounds.

"Now was that so bad?" asked Hermione softly as she helped Charlie sit down.

"I guess not," he responded, "it feels good to know I can stand. Hopefully I'll be able to walk soon." The question in his voice was not lost on Hermione and she considered it.

"Maybe. Let's see how today goes first, shall we?"

Before she knew it, it was time for her daily visit with Firecracker. Stepping into the enclosure Hermione was met with complete and utter chaos. Brandishing her wand Hermione turned just in time to dodge an orange stream of flame. Quickly she doused the small fire it caused. What was going on?

"Bugger me!" muttered a familiar angry voice to the left of Hermione.

"Lucas! What's going on here?" As he realized who was talking relief sagged through his weary face.

"Thank god you're here." Hermione's questions fell on silent ears as he yanked her towards the familiar cage. She had to suppress a grin at what she found waiting for her. On the ground beside her charred cage, surrounded by tamers, sat little Firecracker spitting a stream fire at anyone who dared to approach her.

"Umm Lucas, what exactly do you expect me to do here? I don't see anyone suffering from any injuries." Hermione was both confused and amused.

"Look, you're our last resort. A few minutes before you walked in she sneezed and managed to set her cage on fire. By the time Miles realized what happened it was too late, she was loose. Now she's sitting there sending fire at anyone who tries to stun or subdue her. You just happened to come at a really convenient time. Now, I know you like her and she likes you, so go get her. Please." he added hastily at her incredulous look. What made him think that Hermione could wrangle a feisty hatchling? Sucking in a breath and donning a pair of dragon hide gloves she moved towards the small Chinese Fireball.

"Hello Firecracker," she greeted the dragon and moved closer with caution, wand at the ready. At the sound of her voice Firecracker let out a happy breath of hot steam. "Yes, yes I missed you too." At this point she had managed to get closer than any of the other keepers and in a few more steps she would be able to grab the large reptile. Stretching out her hand, palm first she continued to coax the dragon into calming down. A few long minutes later Hermione was seated on the enclosure floor scratching Firecracker's belly while many of the keepers looked on in awed shock.

Now that the troublesome creature was no longer an imminent threat, her cage and the enclosure were quickly fixed. Hermione spent a few more minutes in the company of her favorite hatchling before returning her to the newly mended cage. She exited the enclosure with Miles and Lucas in tow. Once the trio was inside the hospital, the two men hurried to regale Charlie with her feat. Before Hermione could make her way to check on her patient and give him a dose of the potion she was stopped by Maggie who handed her a folded piece of parchment.

"This came for you a few minutes ago."

She pocketed the letter and took care of Charlie before situating herself behind the welcome desk. Her face paled as she read the letter.

_Hermione, _

_ Mr. Weasley is in St. Mungo's. He was tinkering in the shed on an old car and something went wrong. The healers don't know exactly what happened but his legs are severely damaged and it's not clear if he'll be well enough to walk Ginny down the aisle. We're all going to the hospital tomorrow and I know everyone would feel better if you were there._

_Love, Harry._

Her happy mood shattered. Hermione's heart ached for the entire Weasley family; Arthur was like a father to her. Tears invaded her eyes making them burn. She blinked them back, now was not the time. Building up a happy façade Hermione pocketed the note once again and returned to her duties. Telling Charlie could wait until dinner, when they were alone.

She managed through the rest of her shift without cracking. As Hermione set dinner for her and Charlie she felt the tears swim back into her eyes. This time she didn't fight them. She looked at Charlie Weasley with sorrow deep in her caramel colored eyes and handed him the letter. A frown creased his way onto his face and his color drained considerably. He looked up at her.

"I'm so sorry, Charlie." And she was. She felt horrible for suggesting Charlie hide his health from his family. She felt horrible for Charlie knowing he would keep up the ruse to make his baby sister's wedding day perfect. Hermione counted on Charlie being upset, but she didn't count on the burly keeper to cry. Moving the untouched dinner out of the way she scooted closer to him and hesitantly wrapped her arms around his large form. She felt him slowly embrace her back and let herself shed a few tears along with him. Hermione comforted him with soothing words and encouraged him to let it all out. She had a feeling he was crying for more than his injured father.

Abruptly he pulled away and harshly wiped at his eyes. "Help me up," he demanded. Despite her few reservations Hermione guided Charlie to his feet. Supporting his back and chest she encouraged Charlie to take a step forward. It was more like a shuffle, but it was a start. Steeling her gaze into one of grim determination Hermione prepared herself for a sleepless night. She knew in her heart that Charlie would not rest until he could walk at least a few feet unassisted.

And so they went, slowly and wobbly at first like a toddler walking to his parent for the first time and then more stable and confident as the night went on. By the time the Romanian sun rose Charlie was able to walk the fifteen feet between his bed and the reception desk before becoming short of breath. It was a start and that was all they needed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

Hermione plopped down on the couch in her hut and gently massaged her temples. She had just returned from St. Mungo's and was completely drained. Unfortunately for everyone involved Arthur's condition had not improved. It appeared that while working on the engine, Arthur had somehow managed to cause a small explosion, severely burning his legs in the process. Hermione felt it a miracle that his legs didn't need to be removed. Due to the severity of the damage Ginny's father would be staying in the Wizarding hospital for the remainder of this week and all of next, only being released for the wedding and even then he would be confined to a wheelchair.

Much to the family's dismay that meant Arthur was unable to properly give his daughter away. Needless to say, Ginny was heartbroken. Her father couldn't walk her down the aisle and to her knowledge her favorite brother was still in a coma. Tensions ran high in the Weasley family with Molly bursting into tears at every turn and Ginny prone to drastic mood swings. The pre-wedding anxiety raged at an all time high and the healthy Weasley brothers were at their wits end. It was always Arthur who could calm the chaos with a few quick words, but with their father shut away in a hospital bed, the crazy grew and grew until it almost burst.

The only reprieve they were granted happened in the few short hours Hermione was with them. Much to everyone's relief she was immediately able to mollify a frantic Ginny and sooth Mrs. Weasley. She also explained Arthur's condition in terms the whole family could understand and relate to. Her simple explanation did wonders on the family's morale. After coercing the family back to the burrow Hermione made everyone a cup of calming chamomile tea. Hermione ensured that each family member, even Ron, was doing alright before guiding Ginny upstairs to her bedroom. There Hermione took control and flattened out some last minute wedding details before slipping Ginny a mild sleeping draught. She bid the family goodbye, reminding them that she was only a floo call away before disapparating with a small pop.

Now all Hermione wanted to was curl up and take a long nap. But she couldn't, not yet anyway. Before leaving she promised to visit Charlie as soon as she returned, and after everything she wasn't going to deny him news of his father's condition. She felt like there was a bag of bricks on her back as she stood up. Dealing with all of these emotions exhausted her. In a daze Hermione journeyed to the clinic.

"Hi Charlie," she yawned. "Your dad is stable. He created a minor explosion that caused a lot of damage to his legs. He'll be fine but he has to stay in the hospital for the next two weeks. He was granted one day away for the wedding, of course. Your mum is doing okay and Ginny is a right mess. Bill agreed to give her away." Saying all she needed to Hermione closed her eyes and relaxed into the comfy red chair that was there, waiting for her.

"Thank you." murmured Charlie quietly.

"Huh?" she said groggily.

"I said thank you, for taking care of my family when I can't." Hermione empathized with Charlie and wished she could make the situation easier for him. She yawned again. Her eyelids drooped and she didn't try to fight it. A few moments later she was asleep, snoring softly. Charlie smiled as he watched her chest rise and fall with the even breaths that only come with sleep. He carefully slipped out of bed and silently thanked Maggie for the pepper up potion she gave him only minutes before Hermione entered the clinic. Carefully so as to not disturb the sleeping witch, Charlie scooped her up into his arms. She sighed and curled her head into his chest.

He slowly made his way to the doors and to freedom. Charlie grinned ruefully as he recalled the last time he had been outside the hospital. Now this time Charlie was guiding Hermione. As he neared the rows of huts Charlie frowned as he realized he did not know which one belonged to the sleeping witch in his arms. That problem solved itself as he felt Hermione begin to wake in his arms.

Hermione came back to her senses to find herself incredibly warm and swaying gently. A woodsy smell came across her and she slowly opened her eyes. All she saw was a wide expanse of chest. She could hear the heartbeat increase marginally as her breathing changed.

"What's your hut number?" a familiar voice asked. Her brain was still fuzzy.

"Twenty eight." she responded, her voice scratchy.

"Thank you."

Suddenly she was awake and alert when she realized that she was being carried back to her hut. By Charlie. Who last night could barely walk fifteen feet without losing his breath. "What are you doing? No, better yet. Why are you carrying me back to my hut? You should have woken me!" She glared up at him in disapproval.

"Well I saw how exhausted you looked and didn't have it in me to wake you up." While it was a sweet thought Hermione still shook her head.

"Care to explain how you managed to carry me to my hut when last night you could hardly get yourself to the reception desk?" Hermione asked as he placed her down at the door to her hut.

"Practice and a pepper up potion." Opening her door and ushering him in before her, Hermione briefly smiled.

"At least now I don't have to worry about you not being able to walk Ginny down the aisle. Speaking of which, I think now is a good time to run over the plan." She quickly brewed two cups of tea and the pair sat in front of her warm fire. "Early that morning I'm going to hide you in the attic then I'm going to get ready with Ginny, Luna, and Fleur in her room. The groomsmen will be getting ready in George's room. I'll give you your robes before we leave. When Ginny and Molly have their moment alone I'm going to fetch and disillusion you. You'll follow me and stay out of sight until Neville and Fleur go down the aisle. Once they leave I want you to tap Ginny on the shoulder and say something sweet and brotherly. I'll go down with Bill and you and Ginny follow ten seconds after. Hooray fantastic wedding."

"Wow Hermione, that is a very thought out plan."

She smiled. "I had a lot of practice. Going on the run for a year really hones your planning skills." Charlie laughed heartily. "Well, since you're here why don't we have dinner now?"

"Excellent. It's nice not being stuck to that hospital bed."

Silently he two of them heated up Molly's latest meal and carried a light conversation as they ate. They moved to the couch for dessert. It was homemade chocolate pudding and reminded Hermione of Luna. Their conversation lapsed and fell into an easy quiet, both taking comfort in the warmth of the flames.

Suddenly they were jarred out of their thoughts by a loud banging on the door.

"Hermione! Hermione are you back yet?!" screeched Maggie on the other side of the door. Standing up she went and opened the wooden door.

"Yes? Is something the matter?"

"Yes! Charlie's missing! I came back from my dinner break and he was gone! I checked the hatchling keep, his hut, and each of the boys' huts but he wasn't there! I do—"

"That would be because he's here, with me." interrupted Hermione. Charlie appeared behind his healer and waved sheepishly. Hermione turned, looking pointedly at a bashful Weasley. "You didn't tell her we were leaving did you." What could have been a question was most definitely a statement.

"Sorry Maggie, Hermione fell asleep and I didn't want to wake her so I carried her back here. I didn't realize we would be so long." All the anger left Maggie's face at the mere fact that Charlie was able to carry Hermione halfway across the reserve. Charlie sagged in visible relief.

"Well Mr. Weasley I think that your stay at Hotel de la Hospital is officially over. I just need both of you to come and fill out the discharge papers." With that Maggie turned on her heel and hurried back to the clinic.

Once the head healer was out of sight Charlie whooped with joy, slinging his arms around Hermione in a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Hermione. Really. Without you I might not be here at all."

"All in a day's work," she said returning his embrace.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

The following evening Hermione set her table for one. As she moved between the kitchen and the dining area she reflected over her day, it was almost boring. She didn't have the looming and intense feeling of worry stashed away in the back of her mind. Now that Charlie was almost fully healed there was nothing to really occupy her time. There was nothing to research, no one to carefully watch over. The last time Hermione could remember not having anything pressing to consume her time was before Hogwarts. Each year at school Hermione's time was taken up by studying and making sure Harry and Ron didn't get themselves killed. Then came the war followed by the after war clean up. Following that was her healer training which resulted in her efforts to cure Charlie Weasley. Suffice it to say Hermione did not handle having an empty plate well.

First she scrubbed her hut from top to bottom, ensuring every surface sparkled. Then she answered a few letters tying up some pesky last minute wedding details. Finding everything in order, Hermione decided to make dinner, frowning slightly at the thought of eating alone. She had gotten used to eating most meals with a bedridden red head. Hermione was shocked when she realized the size of the part Charlie played in her life. Perhaps, Hermione reasoned, she might have made other friends if he wasn't injured on her second day. Her musings were cut short by a sharp rap on her door.

When she pulled back the door she was greeted by Charlie with his hands in his pockets. He was dressed in a pair of dark Muggle jeans and a thick blue sweater with a pair of worn dragon hide boots. She was instantly aware that she was dressed in her pajamas, a ratty t-shirt and baggy sweatpants.

"Charlie, hi. What are you doing here?"

"I didn't really fancy eating by myself tonight and I figured maybe I could join you?" There was a hesitance in his deep voice.

She nodded. "Yes, of course. Come in." Hermione waved him into her home and shut the door softly behind him. "Just let me set another place."

As she did so she noticed Charlie wringing his hands nervously. Quickly she served up to helpings of chili with crusty bread on the side and sat down. The two ate and engaged in mindless chatter. Charlie put his spoon down and wiped his lips with his napkin. Hermione found herself looking into clear cerulean eyes.

He cleared his throat. "I um just thought you should know that, well, I sent an owl to my dad." Charlie looked much calmer. "I felt terrible about keeping it from him. I also told him about the plan, and he seemed fairly amused by it. And I think we could use all the help we can get come Saturday."

"I think you're absolutely right. Now he can just focus on getting better." Hermione smiled and so did Charlie. "Speaking about getting better, don't forget to take your potion Saturday! You may feel fine, but there is still some poison floating around your system." He nodded in understanding. The rest of their evening passed rather quickly and at around eleven the pair parted for the night.

The wedding was in two days and Hermione felt confident that the day would go off without a hitch. Everything was planned and coordinated to perfection. She imagined everyone's reaction when they saw Charlie walking Ginny down the aisle. Hermione was glad to be walking down the aisle with Bill too; she really did not want to be the only bridesmaid walking alone.

Hermione woke Saturday morning feeling energized and ready to take on the day. She dressed in comfortable clothes, brushed her teeth, and drank a quick cup of tea. Grabbing her dress, Charlie's robes, and a few odds and ends Hermione flew out of her hut. Charlie was waiting for her, a wicked grin on his face. After disillusioning Charlie they departed with a whirl, holding tightly to a portkey set to land in the attic, courtesy of Arthur.

They landed quietly and Hermione shoved a bundle into his arms. "Here's everything you'll need for today. Be ready for phase two in four hours." At his positive response Hermione apparated to the living room to keep appearances. Hermione was grateful that Mrs. Weasley's old clock was destroyed in the war, having Charlie's hand pointing to home would ruin everything they'd worked for.

Shouting hello's as she went, Hermione made her way to Ginny's room. Throwing open the door she smiled widely at Ginny, Luna, Fleur, and Mrs. Weasley. Hermione quickly wrapped Ginny in a tight hug, incredibly excited for her best friend. "Let's get you ready to walk down that aisle!"

For the next three hours consisted of hair getting curled, make-up painted on, and reassuring the bride. Ginny was convinced that everything was going to go horribly wrong. Hermione and Luna spent fifteen minutes assuring Ginny that Harry wasn't going to leave her at the altar. The time finally came for Hermione to help Ginny into her gown. She looked stunning. Her beautifully curled red hair gleamed as it cascaded down her back and her white chiffon dress fit her perfectly. The beaded strapless top twinkled while the lace overlay made the whole ensemble scream elegance. Twenty five soft white buttons lined her back.

Hermione wiped away a tear. "Oh Ginny, you look radiant. Harry isn't going to know what hit him."

"You really think so?"

"I know so." Hermione hugged her once more. Gesturing to the goblin made tiara that sat atop Ginny's head, "You have your something borrowed. And your something new are your earrings right?" she clarified. Hanging from Ginny's ears were tasteful diamond teardrops, an early wedding present from the groom.

"My something old is my bracelet. Harry got it for me for our first anniversary." Adorning her petite wrist was a thin silver cuff, Ginny rarely took it off. "I don't have anything blue though."

"Yes you do," corrected Hermione. Knowing this might happen Hermione came prepared with one of each "something". Reaching into her beaded bag Hermione pulled out a necklace with a pale blue gemstone situated in the center. Stepping behind the bride she fastened the clasp around Ginny's neck.

Mrs. Weasley came into the room and shooed Hermione away to finish getting dressed. "Half an hour!" she heard on her way out. She hurried into the bathroom and stepped into the knee length periwinkle dress. Hermione double checked her hair and make-up before discretely making her way to the attic. She checked the time: twenty minutes.

Slipping into the room she saw Charlie struggling with his tie. "Men," she muttered under her breath as she marched over and deftly tied his tie for him. She stepped back and surveyed his appearance. He looked dashing. The robes fit him well and the periwinkle tie brought out his eyes. The wide smile on his face displayed his obvious excitement. He was like a first year seeing Hogwarts for the first time.

"In twenty five minutes be outside by the entrance to the tent. Do whatever it is you're going to do when Bill goes to take her hand. Got it?" Charlie chuckled at her order, but nodded anyway. He could not wait to see the look on his sister's face.

Taking a breath, Hermione descended the stairs. Stepping back into the room she was greeted by a watery smile. "Are you alright?"

Ginny nodded yes but still a tear slid down her pale cheek. Hermione handed her a tissue. "I'm incredibly happy Hermione. I can't wait to marry Harry. I just, I wanted my dad and Charlie to walk me down the aisle. Now, neither of them can! Charlie isn't even going to be at my wedding. It was supposed to be perfect, but how can it be when my big brother is lying comatose in a hospital bed in Romania?!" Ginny was openly sobbing and Hermione felt her heart tear in two. Hugging her tightly Hermione said soothing words and managed to calm the nervous bride.

"I promise you Ginny, today will be perfect. It will. Trust me."

Peeking at the time she noted there were only five more minutes. Whipping out her wand, Hermione had Ginny looking impeccable once more in a matter of moments. Luna entered a few minutes later with two lily bouquets in hand. Molly bustled in right after her and grabbed the back of Ginny's dress, weeping she encouraged her daughter to head downstairs.

The group of women reached the entrance of the tent and soon after the ceremony began. First down the aisle was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Ron and Luna departed ten seconds after, followed by Neville and Fleur. As Bill moved to take Ginny's hand a voice spoke from behind the two siblings and Ginny felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey baby sister, isn't that my job?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

"_Hey baby sister, isn't that my job?"_

Ginny's eyes widened and her bouquet dropped to the ground. She whipped around and choked out a strangled sob at the sight of Charlie. Shakily she reached out a tentative hand to touch his face, not believing he was real. When she was met with warm flesh a wide smile broke out across her face as happy tears rushed down her cheeks. "Charlie!" Ginny threw her arms around her brother and squeezed him tightly as he hugged her back. His face hurt from the strength of his smile and he blinked back tears at the beautiful sight his little sister made.

"I promised that I would walk you down the aisle," he whispered quietly into her ear, "and I always keep my promises." Crushing her to him once more he stepped back and brushed the tears off her face with his thumbs. He kissed her sweetly on the forehead, realizing just how much he missed his only sister. Charlie bent down and picked up her fallen bouquet then placed it in her trembling hands. "Now, I think it's time for somebody to get married."

Meanwhile Hermione had to pull a shocked and confused Bill down the aisle with her, grinning happily at the siblings' joyous reunion. She was glad she had thought to place extra cameras around to catch the Weasley's reaction to their surprise guest. Now Hermione only hoped Charlie managed to get down the aisle on time. Harry had gone through enough and he didn't need to think he was left at the altar.

The music changed and everyone stood. Holding tightly to Charlie's arm Ginny looked up at him. He looked down at her and said "You look beautiful." Carefully the bride and her brother took their first step onto the grass aisle littered with pale blue flower petals. Loud gasps rang through the tent. Astonished murmurs and happy cries blended together in the air as the pair made their slow, calculated trek towards the grinning groom. Molly Weasley could be heard sobbing loudly in the front row.

When they reached Harry and Kingsley, the Minister of Magic, Charlie hugged Ginny once more and kissed her cheek before placing her small hand in Harry's large one. He quickly stepped off to the side. His eyes sought Hermione's and they grinned knowingly at each other. They did it.

The ceremony went off without a hitch and was absolutely breathtaking. Hermione teared up when she noticed Harry blinking back his own tears as he spoke his vows. Ginny cried happily through the whole ceremony. The same was said for Mrs. Weasley. Hermione hoped that whenever she got married her day would be as magical as this one.

As Harry and Ginny walked down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Potter Hermione found herself flanked on either side by the two eldest Weasley brothers. The three of them set off following the happy couple. "You planned this, didn't you?" accused Bill quietly. "This was no miraculous recovery." Hermione and Charlie looked at each other sheepishly. "In any case, I'm glad to have you back, brother."

Immediately after they stepped outside the tent Hermione and Charlie were accosted by an emotional red headed bride. "I want answers. And I want them now."

"A few things my dearest sister," responded Charlie, "first—congratulations, second—everything will be explained in due time, and third—I don't recall any questions." Ginny glared and then gathered her brother into a hug once again.

"I missed you, Charlie."

"I missed you too, Gin. More than you know."

The sweet moment was broken when Molly rushed over, still sobbing, and engulfed her son in a strong, motherly hug. He returned the embrace with equal force, whispering calming words to her. Arthur, in a magical wheelchair, slowly made his way towards Hermione.

"Thank you for saving my son and making this a day Ginny will never forget." Hermione smiled and embraced the man who was like a father to her.

As the Weasley family plus Harry and Hermione congregated off to the side, Fleur took control of the reception, carefully transforming the ceremony space to an ethereal and romantic reception area with soft, twinkling lights and sparkling table settings.

After Charlie extracted himself from his mother's grasp he turned and hugged his father sharing a few quick words that left Charlie with a red tint on his cheeks. Next in line was Bill who had a special bond with Charlie, one very similar of that which existed between George and Fred.

"Don't ever do that to me again." said Bill somberly, "I think I finally understood a fragment of what George felt like and I never want to feel that way again. Please refrain from hurting yourself because I need to talk to you tomorrow. It's important." Charlie nodded affirmative.

Percy, George, and Ron both hugged their big brother, wishing him well.

Charlie noticed that the reunions had all been made and he grabbed Hermione's hand, tugging her towards him. "Now for the explanation," he said looking around at his family, "I give you Hermione." She looked at him incredulously.

"Thanks for throwing me under the bus!" she muttered to him softly. He snickered.

Speaking professionally she began, "I first tried to cure Charlie with the cure Madame Pomfrey used on Harry after the first task but due to the sheer amount of poison in his bloodstream, it didn't work. So I went to the library and began to try and modify the potions. After one long night over a cauldron I had a successful modification. I ran it by Maggie—the head healer on the reserve—and she cleared it. I administered the cure to Charlie and it partially worked and he woke up. He was extremely weak. After checking his vitals again I realized it only neutralized about half of the poison in his body and I realized I'd have to give him smaller and smaller doses over the next few weeks to get it all out of his system. The next day he woke up and he was so frail because he lost a great deal of his muscle mass when he was in the coma.

"I asked him if he wanted me to contact you and he said no, he didn't want you all to see him in that state. A few days later we decided to keep his awareness a secret and surprise Ginny at the wedding. He was well fed by all the food you sent Molly, which he claims helped him the most, especially when he had to relearn how to walk. I promise he was well taken care of the entire time." Hermione stared at the Weasley clan, unsure of their reactions.

"Well Hermione, I didn't think you had it in you to pull such a prank," commended George, "so well done."

Ginny rushed up and enveloped Hermione in a warm hug. "Thank you, Hermione. You helped make my wedding day absolutely perfect."

The rest of the family took the news well, even Molly much to Hermione's relief.

"All right you lot, we have a wedding reception to get back to!" said Mrs. Weasley effectively ending the small reunion. The family minus Ginny and Harry proceeded to enter the transformed space. The Potters entered shortly after and proceeded to dance their first dance as husband and wife. It was sweet.

A delicious dinner of Cornish hen, potato, and vegetables was served with an excellent elf made wine. Then the cake was brought out and the happy couple danced again. Following that was a long song where Ginny danced with each of her brothers and her father. It was a touching sight. Once that finished, the couples each paired off and began to dance. Hermione laughed at Ron's expression as he tried to dance with Luna.

Hermione was sitting alone at a table picking at her piece of red velvet wedding cake. She was thrilled at how the day turned out. It was better than she could have ever imagined. Hermione was extremely glad to no longer have the secret of Charlie's health looming over her at every Weasley gathering. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Charlie. He was standing a few meters away from her perch and she watched as he extended a hand in her direction.

"May I have this dance?"

Hermione nodded, a smile slowly spreading across her face. Holding hands the pair moved towards the checkered dance floor as the music began to slow. She placed her hand lightly on his back as his found purchase on her tiny waist, their hands staying grasped. As they swayed to the beat Hermione felt Charlie's hand go slack.

Suddenly Charlie dropped to the ground, all the color leaving his face. Family swarmed like angry bees around the healer and her patient. Hermione was overwhelmed. "Everybody," she screeched "get BACK!" Healer Hermione had taken over and she read his vitals. She noticed the level of poison in his system was increasing. Her anxious fear turned to irritated anger. That idiot forgot to take his bloody potion! She quickly accio'd the small bottle and forced its contents down his throat. She, and everyone around, sighed with relief when he sucked in a deep breath and opened his eyes. He looked around, confused. Charlie turned his head to face Hermione.

"I forgot my potion, didn't I?"

"Yes! And I would appreciate it if you didn't do that again! Almost gave me a bloody heart attack." she groused, a relieved smile stuck on her face. There was never a dull moment when the Weasley's were around.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

After ensuring Charlie was feeling okay for the umpteenth time following the incident Hermione weaved her way through the crowd of wedding goers to the bar. When it was her turn she ordered a firewhiskey with no hesitation. After the day she had, Hermione needed something to loosen her up. She took her tumbler and found an empty seat at the end of the wooden bar. The brunette witch sat facing the reception, watching everyone enjoy themselves. She took a large gulp of the amber liquid and savored the burn rushing down her throat, sending tingles all the way to her toes. Hermione took a sip and another and another until her glass was empty. Her feet hurt despite the cushioning charm she placed on them earlier in the day and she wondered if it was appropriate to kick them off. If Hermione had her way she would spend the rest of her life barefoot or in flat shoes—she detested wearing heels.

Just as she was about to slip out of her shoes a shadow fell across her. Hermione looked up and a sweet smile lit up her face. "Viktor! I didn't know you were here!" she greeted the tall Bulgarian.

"Herm-own-ninny, it is lovely to see you again. You look beautiful. Would you like to dance with me?" She nodded her head and slid off of the seat; once she found her balance she grabbed his large hand and pulled him along behind her. As they reached the dance floor and began to move with the beat Hermione felt like she was fifteen again. The similarities between this night and the Yule ball were startling. Hermione looked stunning with her hair up elegantly and her periwinkle dress fitting her perfectly while she danced with Viktor Krum as a red head sat at a table and watched them intently.

Thanks to the firewhiskey Hermione was able to let some of her inhibitions go as Viktor swung and twirled her wildly around the dance floor. She felt carefree and her happy laughter was contagious. Both were glad for the breather the slow song allowed.

Meanwhile Charlie nursed his own glass of firewhiskey. Seated alone at a round table Charlie's clear blue eyes found the petite form of Hermione. He frowned in contemplation; he had never seen her look so—so free before. It was eye opening. Charlie realized that there was so much more to Hermione than he had previously thought. As the up tempo song began to trail off Ginny tapped Charlie on the shoulder.

"Come on big brother, dance with me." It was however, more of an interrogation rather than a dance. He should have seen this coming. "So," she said getting straight to the point, "how long have you liked Hermione?" Charlie's eyes popped and he commended himself on not missing a step.

"Ginny, what are you talking about? I don't like Hermione."

"Then why have you been staring at her and glaring daggers at Viktor for the past ten minutes?" she asked pointedly. He went to speak but she shushed him. "Don't try to deny it, Charlie. I saw you do it."

"We're friends Ginny, friends. She saved my life and has been there with me every step of the way—she helped me learn how to walk again! Yes I care about her, but it's the same way I care about you! She's like a sister to me, Gin."

Ginny shook her head in exasperation. Why did all of her brothers have to be so thick? "Whatever, Charlie. Just let me know when you stop lying to yourself." Charlie rolled his eyes. He was being honest. Right?

Their discussion ended as the topic of their conversation came over and took Ginny's hand. "Time to say your goodbyes! Your portkey leaves in ten minutes!" Hermione led Ginny towards their gathered family and friends and Charlie followed slowly. When it was his turn he hugged his sister and kissed her forehead and firmly shook Harry's hand. His attention, Ginny was happy to note, was not entirely there.

Hermione was next to say goodbye and good luck to the couple. She hugged the bride and groom tightly. "Congratulations you two, I'm so happy for you both. Have a fantastic time on your honeymoon! Ginny, I packed you a suitcase and it will be waiting for you when you get there." She laughed at the redheaded bride's expression.

"Wait! So you knew all this time where I was going and you didn't tell me?!" Ginny tried to weasel out the destination of her surprise honeymoon for months. She wasn't successful. Hermione didn't have to respond as the happy couple was whisked away by the handkerchief Hermione had charmed as a portkey. After that the guests began to depart. Viktor bid Hermione farewell with a chaste kiss on the top of her hand and a request for more frequent correspondence. She smiled in agreement and he departed with a pop. That left the Weasley family plus Hermione and Luna to clean up the reception area and take down the tent.

Nearly a half an hour later Hermione was finally free to take off her painful heals and change out of her dress. Since Ginny was away Hermione got the room to herself. Most of the family fell asleep nearly instantly, leaving the bathroom free of the usual constant traffic. Hermione decided to take advantage and drew herself a steamy bubble bath scented with rose and jasmine. She grabbed a tattered muggle novel and accio'd a glass and bottle of wine. Hermione groaned in relief as she stepped into the hot water, soothing her aching feet. Lounging in the bath was one of Hermione's favorite ways to decompress after a long day. When she tired of the novel she began to hum and sing softly. Unbeknownst to her, the soft melody carried down to the room below her.

Since all of the bedrooms were full with happy couples, Charlie was forced to sleep on the couch in the living room. He didn't mind terribly, taking solace in the mesmerizing movement of the fire. Charlie couldn't sleep anyway, his mind plagued with too many racing thoughts to shut off. Confused feelings and lingering questions danced behind his eyes like the flames did in front of them. Lying on his side, a quiet melody began swirling around his thoughts, it was familiar but Charlie didn't know why. Slowly his loud mind began to hush and Charlie started to drift off to sleep. He limbs felt comfortably heavy as he stayed on the cusp of dreamland until the comforting tune halted. His eyes shot open at the sound of a door opening. The music wasn't in his head; it was coming from the bathroom upstairs, directly above him.

Without a second thought Charlie sprung up from the couch and bounded up the stairs. He was greeted with a sweet, floral smell. Peeking into the vacated washroom Charlie noticed a worn copy of _Jane Eyre_ sitting on the floor near the bathtub and knew it was Hermione's. Turning around he padded across the hall and knocked on the door to the room she was staying in. She opened the door, a hairbrush in one hand, and beckoned Charlie into the room. She was dressed in a matching polka dot pajama set. Sitting on the bed she gestured for him to join her. While she waited for him to start speaking Hermione continued to battle the rat's nest of tangled curls on her head.

"I couldn't sleep." he said plainly.

"Okay, did you want a sleeping draught?" answered Hermione, confused.

"No, I don't think so." Charlie trailed off, leaving Hermione even more confused. "In the bath a few minutes ago, you were singing, weren't you? It was familiar, your voice I mean. But I don't know where I could have heard it before. I mean, I don't have any conscious memories of even knowing you before the accident, never mind ever hearing you sing." He paused and Hermione took note at his use of "conscious".

A few moments passed as Charlie collected his frazzled thoughts. He looked at Hermione. "I don't understand. I have these memories from a dream or something of someone singing to me, in your voice. I know this sounds stupid, but it felt like an angel watching over me. Hermione I need to know, have you ever sung to me before?" Hermione's heart ached for this man. He looked so weak and confused by these phantom memories.

"Yes," she said clearly, "in fact I sang to you quite a bit when you were comatose. Muggle's believe that when people are in a coma that you can still hear the people around you, so often times friends and family will talk to them in hopes to bring them back. Did you really hear me?"

Charlie was only able to nod. So Hermione was this angel, the one whose voice lulled him to sleep, who made him feel safe.

"Why did you sing to me?" he asked.

"Because I knew you were still in there somewhere and I knew you were a fighter. Even though I didn't know you personally, you were still a Weasley and I would be dammed if I thought I was going to give up and just let you stay that way forever."

Charlie didn't know what to say, so he chose to hug her instead. They stayed like that for a few minutes before he pulled away. Hermione missed the warmth he provided.

"Hermione," he began tentatively, "can you—I mean would you, sing to me?"

She smiled widely and situated herself before pulling Charlie's head to rest comfortably in her lap. "I would love to." She began to sing, hesitantly at first before becoming steadier as she gently pulled her fingers through his hair until his breathing evened and he fell asleep. She followed shortly after, her thin fingers still tangled in his red hair.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

Hermione learned early on in her relationship with Ron that she was a cuddler, and after their split she continued to snuggle up tight to whatever happened to be in her bed whether it was a blanket, pillow, or stuffed animal. So it was no surprise when she found herself wrapped tightly around Charlie, her face pressed firmly against his warm chest that morning. What was a surprise however, were the strong arms that surrounded Hermione's tiny frame holding her close and the head resting comfortably atop hers.

She slowly woke up, her brain still a bit foggy from the night prior, feeling much warmer than she was used to in the mornings. She relished the extra heat and snuggled closer to her pillow hoping for a few more minutes of sleep. Her pillow, though, was firmer than she recalled. Instantly she stiffened when she realized her head was moving in time with someone's breathing because it wasn't her own breathing. Then the events from last night flitted across her mind in quick succession and she let relief seep through her limbs. Now though, Hermione realized she needed to use the loo. Groaning inwardly at her predicament Hermione tried to turn over without waking Charlie.

"If you keep wiggling like that we're going to have a new kind of problem." Charlie said smirking. Hermione stilled her movement and blushed from head to toe. Her face, resting lightly on his worn green shirt, was set in an embarrassed grimace. "Good morning, Hermione." he laughed.

"Good morning, Charlie." responded Hermione flatly. She pulled out of his grasp and stood up, both instantly aware of their change in temperature. Hermione stretched and Charlie's gaze was immediately drawn to the small strip of tanned midriff that was revealed. As Hermione fought her hair into a plait that hung down the center of her back, Charlie forced his body out of Hermione's extremely comfortable bed.

"You know, I think I might move in here tonight, your bed is way more comfortable than the couch." Hermione just shook her head.

"Come on, you." She stepped out of her room and into the hall with Charlie directly behind her and came face to face with Bill, who had just exited the bathroom. His face split into a wide grin.

"So that's where you scurried off to Charlie, Mum was worried sick when she went down to make breakfast and saw the couch empty." Bill laughed loudly at Hermione's outraged expression and Charlie's amused one. "Why don't you two run along and see if Ronald left you lot any breakfast. And Charlie, meet me by the apple tree at noon." He motioned once more for the pair to head down stairs before leaving to meet his wife.

As the pair settled down at the large table Molly gave Charlie a sharp look. "And what were you up to last night?" Hermione blushed at the implication.

"Nothing Mum, honest. Hermione graciously offered me the extra bed in Ginny's room so I wouldn't have to sleep on that terribly uncomfortable couch." Charlie lied convincingly and Hermione smiled at his quick thinking. There was no need for Molly to be sticking her nose in things that didn't concern her. Hermione loved Molly like another mother, but even she couldn't deny that the woman was too curious for her own good.

"Is that true Hermione?" It seemed that the Weasley matriarch was skeptical about her son's reasoning.

"Of course, Molly. Especially after his little accident at the wedding I wanted to make sure he got a good night's rest." That successfully shifted Mrs. Weasley's ire off the both of them and transferred it onto just Charlie. Serves the git right for not taking his potion. Curious as to why she and Charlie were the only two at the table Hermione checked the time and gasped quietly. It was quarter to noon! Hermione knew she got to bed late but she always woke up at half past eight, always! She was floored. The only reason she could come up with for her long sleep was currently shoving eggs into his mouth in the seat next to her.

Hermione waited until Mrs. Weasley was sufficiently distracted by something on the stove to lean over and whisper softly to Charlie, "Do you normally sleep this late?" She watched, her expression full of mirth, as his blue eyes widened comically.

"Bloody hell, I haven't slept past eight in a long time." He paused to take a bite of toast and jam. "You know, I'm pretty sure it had something to do with my new pillow." Charlie too great pleasure in her inability to react properly, he could tell she was itching to respond with a big huff and sputter of indignation. Hermione knew what he was playing at and settled for stabbing her breakfast with renewed vigor. And sending a swift kick to his shin as he stood up to leave the kitchen. He managed to keep a straight face but walked with slight limp, noticeable only to Hermione.

Despite the violent reactions Charlie was beginning to enjoy teasing Hermione. He thought the way her nostrils would flare and the way her lips pursed was adorable. Hurrying—a bit gingerly—up the stairs Charlie ducked into the small bathroom and showered quickly. A few minutes later he stepped out and slung a towel around his waist. Charlie shook his head like a dog and sent water droplets flying across the steamy room. Not wanting to keep the bathroom occupied he moved into the hall and slipped into Ginny's old room, shutting the door behind him.

Hearing the door shut Hermione looked up from the novel in her hands and felt her cheeks warm. Standing in front of the door was Charlie, clad only in a small towel that didn't leave much to the imagination. The last time she saw Charlie in a similar state of undress was two months ago, wherein the man in question was underweight and unconscious. Hermione knew that quidditch players were extremely fit and had heard rumors that said the same of dragon keepers. Now though, seeing a quidditch player _and _a dragon keeper Hermione knew that neither would ever compare. That combination was downright sexy. Hermione blushed furiously at these thoughts, nearly throwing the book back up to hide her face from his view and his body from her view.

"Sorry, sorry." she babbled quickly.

"No, no it's my fault!" he stammered, "I should have knocked!" Charlie made to leave but they both heard the door to the loo slam shut.

"Don't worry; I'll just step out for a minute!" He opened his mouth to protest, but she held up her small hand. "No, really it's quite alright." She squeaked, her face the color of his hair. Jumping off the bed she scurried past the fit red head and rushed out the door.

Hermione was confused. Yes Charlie was incredibly fit but that didn't explain her reaction. She was never the type to use that garish, high pitched girly voice. And besides, she was used to seeing half naked male bodies after living with Harry and Ron in a tent for a year, never mind the fact that she dated Ron for so long! "Get it together," she told herself firmly, "it's Charlie."

The object of her whirling thoughts chose that moment to step out dressed in a pair of jeans and a deep read Weasley jumper. "Again, I'm really sorry about that…" Charlie smiled sheepishly and stuck his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, "I will definitely remember to knock next time."

Hermione smiled and Charlie took that as his cue to head outside to meet with Bill. Leaving the Burrow Charlie recalled the last time he regretted walking into that room without knocking; he threw open the door and was greeted by the sight of Harry and Ginny snogging, his hand planted firmly on his sisters chest. For a while he contemplated going to the ministry and getting that particular memory erased. Needless to say, he, Ginny, and Harry had trouble looking each other in the eye for a few days.

He slowed as he reached the tree and after making sure no one was watching he tapped the lowest branch three times. Thirty seconds later tree house came into view and he climbed the short ladder up. Inside he found his elder brother already waiting, a glass of butterbeer in hand.

When he was fourteen and Bill was fifteen the brothers decided, with the help of their father, to create a place only the two of them knew about to escape the chaos of their large family. It had been their safe haven ever since. This was the place where Bill told Charlie of his plans to marry Fleur and it was where Charlie told Bill that he was moving to Romania to work with the dragons. Charlie wondered what his brother had to tell him today.

Sliding Charlie his drink Bill took a breath and began to speak. "First off, I can't say how glad I am to have you back; I really missed my best friend. Now, the reason I asked you here. I, well, Fleur is, I mean I am, well, Fleur's pregnant. I'm going to be a father." Charlie saw a variety of emotions flicker across Bill's face but only one was present on his own face: happiness. He jumped up and pulled his brother into a tight hug.

"Congratulations! I am so happy for the both of you."

"Thanks, brother. But I need you to keep this a secret; we're waiting until the first trimester is over to tell everyone." Bill said forcefully.

"Sure, of course, but how come you told me?"

"Because Charlie, you're my best friend. And we want you to be the godfather."


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

"I'm sorry?" questioned Charlie, convinced he heard incorrectly.

"You heard me," Bill replied, "but just to clarify—Fleur and I want you to be the godfather of our first child."

A pregnant silence took over the tree house before Charlie blurted "Are you mental?! Me?! ME! I'm a dragon keeper for Merlin's sake! In Romania! I work with some of the most dangerous beasts in our world and I'm not even in the country most of the year! I'll barely have the time as it is to form a relationship as an uncle with the kid, never mind playing the role of godfather! And as we all saw, I don't work in a safe profession, I could get killed and where would you be then, hmm? You would lose a brother and friend while your kid would lose an uncle and a father figure! Not to mention the fact that I don't know how to care for a child, I never even planned on getting married because of the risks that come with being a dragon tamer; I could just as easily get married and then get eaten by an angry dragon two weeks later! And how is an eternal bachelor who lives in Romania taking care of dragons your idea of a good role-model for—"

"Will you shut up already? Those reasons are exactly why we want you as godfather, Charlie. You're loving, caring, and kind. Yeah, you have a reckless streak but you're incredibly responsible at the same time. You're the perfect combination of work and play. Charlie, you do know how to care for children. I remember when Ginny was growing up, you took care of her, you made sure she was always okay and never left behind. You were the one braiding her hair and playing dolls with her when she wasn't old enough to fly yet and everyone else was. And I've seen you with little Teddy, you know how to get him to smile and stop crying just as easily as Harry, Hermione, and Andromeda do.

"So we have established that you will be a good role model and know how to care for kids, what's next? Right, the whole living in Romania thing is a simple fix, really. Just come back and visit more and actually attend Sunday brunches, you know how happy it'll make Mum. Lastly, you seem to forget that I am a curse breaker for Gringotts, not the safest job either. And now you have Hermione to heal your injuries so there's absolutely no way you'll meet an untimely death.

"So, now that that is all settled, let's try this again. Charlie, we want you to be the godfather. There, now what do you say?"

Charlie smiled gratefully for the way Bill was able to hammer sense into his thick head. "I'd be honored to be godfather."

"That's it!" jested Bill. The brothers embraced again and then sat down to their butterbeers.

"So, who did you guys decide for the godmother?"

"I actually don't know, I picked the godfather and Fleur gets to pick the godmother and she hasn't made a decision yet."

Charlie nodded his head and sipped his frothy drink. The eldest Weasley brothers fell into a contented silence as the afternoon sun filtered through the windows displaying geometrical patterns on the floor by their feet. Charlie leaned heavily on the faded wooden table as he contemplated his new responsibility.

Bill cleared his throat effectively drawing Charlie's attention and ending the peaceful silence. Charlie looked up to see a wry grin on his only older brother's face. He gave Bill a look that said "Go on then".

"So little brother, what were you doing in Miss. Granger's room this morning? And don't give me any of that crap you told Mum at breakfast, we both know that was a lie." Charlie grimaced in defeat as he pressed his head firmly into his right hand.

"Sleeping," he answered, "honestly!" he added at his brothers skeptical look.

"Okay, then explain to me why Hermione looked like McGonagall caught her snogging in a broom closet?" Bill laughed loudly at Charlie's befuddled expression.

"I can imagine she wasn't too thrilled that one of my brothers saw us leaving her room together the morning after a wedding. There's a bit of a bad connotation with those types of situations." responded Charlie sarcastically while giving Bill a pointed stare.

Bill sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "Er, right, yeah. Sorry about that."

The conversation lulled into a tense and awkward silence. Bill decided to break the quiet once more.

"So, there's nothing going on between you and Hermione then?" He spoke quickly and braced himself for the explosion.

"No! Jeez, we were talking and fell asleep, that's it!"

Bill approached the next question carefully, "Charlie, I'm just going to come out and say this. Do you have feelings for Hermione?"

"We're just friends!" answered Charlie vehemently. He slid his chair back forcefully as he stormed from the tree house.

"Oh little brother, you are so in denial." spoke Bill softly when he was sure he was alone.

Charlie stomped across the yard to the broom shed as his anger radiated off of him hotly, muttering under his breath about girls and boys and friendship in incoherent sentences. He needed time to think and cool off and the only place he could do both things uninterrupted around here was in the sky. Around the middle of his long flight he asked himself a simple yet entirely complicated question that nearly knocked him off the broom. Was he trying to convince everyone else that he and Hermione were just friends or was he trying to convince himself?

Meanwhile, Hermione's quiet reading in her room at the Burrow was disturbed by a tapping at the window. She placed her book down and got up to let in the unfamiliar owl. After feeding it a few treats and detaching the letter from its leg the owl soared away. Hermione noticed a familiar scrawl and tore open the parchment excitedly.

The letter was from Ginny expressing her thanks for all she did during, before, and after the wedding. Ginny was especially thankful for the suitcase Hermione packed for the couple's honeymoon in Italy. The last few lines of the letter had Hermione cursing the youngest Weasley. She wanted to know what exactly was going on between her best friend and favorite brother. Ginny had made it very clear that when she returned in two weeks that the two best friends were going to have a long awaited girl's night. Hermione groaned and plopped back down on her bed.

She wished she had an answer, but unfortunately for both herself and her red haired friend, she didn't. Hermione didn't know how she felt towards the Weasley in question and the many mixed feelings she was having were grating on her nerves. On the one hand, they had grown very close in a short period of time and Hermione had found a great friendship that she never wanted to lose. But, on the other hand, she had finally admitted to herself that she was attracted to him and she wondered what it would be like to turn their friendship into a relationship. On yet another hand, Charlie was Ron's brother, and even though he was happily dating Luna, Hermione was hesitant to date her ex-boyfriend's older brother. On a fourth hand, Charlie was seven years older than Hermione! While that wasn't a big deal to some people, Hermione had always thought that she would marry someone her own age. She grimaced at what her mother would think. Hermione was beginning to feel like Crookshanks, weighing options on four paws rather than four arms.

She groaned loudly and pressed her face into her pillow trying to drown out the thoughts racing like first years across her mind. It worked for a few moments until the sweet sent that she had begun to associate with Charlie took over her senses. "Ughh why does he have to smell so good?" mumbled Hermione into the pillow.

"What was that?" asked Charlie, who was standing in her doorway. Hermione growled in annoyance. This was the second time today that he had interrupted her thinking! She kept the pillow over her face in hopes that he would get the hint and leave; she wanted to face him when she decided what she wanted. But he was a Weasley and they didn't get hints easily.

She heard him tread softly over to her and felt the bed dip where he sat down beside her. She stiffened as he pressed a hand gently on her back, "Hermione, is everything okay?" At his warm, comforting touch Hermione decided to throw caution to the wind, no matter the consequences. She took a deep, calming breath, turned over, and sat up. Charlie's hand still rested on her back.

Steeling her resolve Hermione looked Charlie in the eye, brown meeting blue unblinking. "Charlie, what are we exactly?" Hermione regretted the question as soon as the words left her mouth, even more so if Charlie's blindsided expression was any indication of his answer.

"What?" he replied in a daze. He was not prepared for this conversation.

Hermione pushed on, "I mean we eat dinner together every night and talk all the time, hell I know more about you than I do most people…" Hermione trailed off lamely.

Charlie closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. He opened his eyes again slowly. "I…I don't know..." he said equally as lame. He was confused and only just beginning to sort out his feelings.

Embarrassed and hurt, Hermione fled from his arms and her room. She disappeared with a pop as soon as she stepped into the hallway.

"Shite," Charlie sighed loudly, "I really screwed this up."


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

Hermione apparated to the first place that crossed her mind: the hatchling keep. She regretted leaving immediately. Glancing around the keep showed that she was alone. In her frazzled state she didn't pay that any mind and walked towards Firecracker's cage. With the wedding and everything else Hermione had neglected visiting her favorite dragon and took this time to get reacquainted. Donning a pair of dragon hide gloves she greeted the growing creature. At Hermione's voice the Chinese Fireball let out an excited jet of fire and puff of smoke. Firecracker nuzzled Hermione's hand and rolled on her back, waiting for Hermione to rub her belly. The frown that had been plastered on Hermione's face slowly turned into a small smile though emotional turmoil could still be seen in her brown eyes if you knew where to look.

She knew that she should not have left and that she shouldn't have expected the answer she wanted. It wasn't fair to Charlie to spring such a question on him when she had only just realized her feelings.

"I'm such an idiot," she said to the dragon, "Charlie has a hard enough time expressing his feelings never mind under pressure. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

Hermione felt completely wretched that she let her embarrassment and sadness get in the way of her rationality. She cursed her Gryffindor rashness for blazing in there with emotions raging and she cursed herself for not sticking around and showing her Gryffindor courage. As she reflected on the hurried conversation she groaned and hung her head in her hands. He didn't actually give her a real answer.

"He said he didn't know Firecracker, which means he must have given at least a little bit of thought into our strange relationship!" Hermione groaned in exasperation, she really mucked things up.

"I think you know what you need to do now."

Hermione shrieked as she fell back onto her bum, whipping out her wand with the speed only a war veteran could possess.

"Easy there, Hermione, it's just me." Lucas was leaning against the door to the keep, his hands up in front of him and a wide eyed look on his face. He visibly relaxed as the talented witch lowered her wand and let out a dumbfounded "oh". She had been so absorbed in her thoughts and her one sided conversation with Firecracker that she didn't notice when he entered. Hermione decided to stay on the floor and so she stared up at Lucas.

"How much of that did you hear?" She had a feeling she already knew the answer.

He moved closer to Hermione and sat cross legged on the floor a few feet away from her. "I heard enough." Lucas let a few moments pass by in silence as he collected his thoughts. "Charlie, he's my best mate, but he's rubbish at talking about his feelings. It takes him a while to figure things out, so just give him a little time. If it helps any, I know he cares about you and I can guarantee that right now, wherever you left him, he is worried sick about where you are and if you're okay." Lucas leaned forward and grasped her hand in his, "What you need to do is go back there and reassure him that you one, don't actually hate him and two, give him time to sort everything out."

Hermione smiled. "Thank you, I needed that." Lucas reminded Hermione a lot of Harry and she felt like she was gaining an older brother.

He stood up and offered a hand down to Hermione but as he started to pull her up his wand began to emit a loud screeching noise. He flinched and almost dropped her but caught her just in time. His face turned a ghostly shade of white. And then the screaming shouted.

"What's going on?" she bellowed, fear bleeding through her veins. It was like the Death Eaters were attacking.

"Code Red! It means one of our high security dragons escaped and we need every available tamer to help!" answered Lucas as he furiously dressed in his dragon hide gear. He rushed out the door as his emergency protocol training took over. Before he stepped outside he turned to Hermione, "Look's like you'll see him sooner than you thought." He smiled ruefully before turning and sprinting to the scene.

Hermione's instincts kicked in and she was following quickly behind. She knew she needed to get to the hospital, there were going to be a lot of injured. Hermione could only hope that Charlie was not one of them. Smoke was everywhere; it seemed that this dragon wanted to set everything it could on fire. This meant that some of the keepers would have to put out the fires while the others battled the ferocious dragon. It was like a war zone. She grimaced at the smell of burning flesh, still not used to it.

As she rounded a corner Hermione came to a dead halt. In front of her stood nearly fifty dragon tamers all pointing their wands at a severely pissed off Hungarian Horntail. The same Horntail, she noted with horror, that sent Charlie to his almost death. She needed to get to the small hospital and she needed to get there fast. And the only way there was through the melee. She steeled her resolve and took of sprinting with her wand gripped tightly in her right hand and a medley of spells on the tip of her tongue.

She was winding through the fight like wind, not staying in one place for long when she heard one strangled and one agonized voice scream her name. Instinctively she pointed her wand behind her and screamed "PROTEGO!" She looked up and her caramel eyes met cerulean ones.

He knew he should have blurted out his feelings instead of saying he didn't know. Because he did know. He knew exactly how he felt about Hermione. He was a Gryffindor and a dragon tamer for Merlin's sake! He should be able to tell a girl how he feels about her! Where was his courage when he needed it? Oh right, packed tightly away behind his fear of rejection and inability to talk about his feelings.

He found the Burrow stifling and retreated to the tree house once again. He was sitting in the tree house deep in thought for nearly an hour when the Code Red alert went off, jarring him back to painful reality. He leaped up and apparated away to his hut. As quick as he could Charlie threw on his gear. Fear gathered like an icy ball in his chest as he heard the shouting and roaring coming from the reserve. Smoke curled in his house like a deadly gas. He took a moment to gather his wits before he threw open his door and charged to help his comrades.

Arriving on the scene he scanned the area quickly and cursed loudly when he saw the Horntail.  
"Bloody beast just can't give it a rest!" He found Lucas, his partner when incidents like these happened. As Charlie was filled on the dangerous situation he scowled.

"I'll stun, you cover." stated Lucas as he hurled stunner after stunner at the flying beast. Charlie watched the dragon closely, making sure to keep his partner out of harm's way. He was trying to figure out a pattern in the dragon's attacks when he saw it. By the way Lucas stiffened Charlie reasoned he saw it too. It sent terror coursing through his body.

The Hungarian Horntail had set its sights on the bushy haired healer tearing through the chaos to, he assumed, the clinic. A frantic "HERMIONE" tore from both of their mouths as he took off full tilt towards her. He watched in muted shock as she managed a protective spell before her eyes met his. And then it happened.

Roaring, the dragon opened its mouth and shot a stream of blue and white flame straight towards Hermione's back. Her wand flew from her hand and her mouth opened in a silent scream as she flew forward and collapsed limp on the ground. Animalistic fear took over his system and he propelled himself to her, terrified at what he would find. A protective barrier appeared between the dragon and Hermione as Charlie swooped down and gently scooped her into his arms. He sighed loudly in relief as she moaned in pain. "She's still alive," he murmured as ran.

Charlie Weasley reached the hospital in record time, kicking the door open with his foot and screaming for help. Maggie turned around and ordered him to place Hermione on the nearest bed. He noted absentmindedly that there were extra healers per emergency protocol. He explained to Maggie what happened in a detached voice unable to take his eyes away from the badly injured body of Hermione. He wasn't paying much attention to the words Maggie was saying to the other healers until they became louder and much, much more frantic.

"Shite. Shite! _Shite! _Her pulse is fading! I can't find a pulse!"


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

"_Shite. Shite! Shite! Her pulse is fading! I can't find a pulse!" _

Wands began moving even faster than they were before, which in itself was a feat of magical proportions. Healing spells and incantations could be heard at ranging decibels from incredibly loud and hurried to extremely quiet and meticulous. Charlie vaguely noticed the medi-witches ripping off the charred remnants of Hermione's shirt as the curtains around her hospital bed magically shut themselves. He tuned out the healer counting loudly and pausing every in time with his own breathing.

Charlie felt his heartbeat increase rapidly as he realized the gravity of the situation and he whimpered in agony. He shoved his face into his hands as he slid slowly to the ground, hanging his head limply on his knees. A few feet away, behind a thin white curtain, lay Hermione _dying_. Hell, for all he knew, she could already be dead. He shuddered.

Charlie didn't know whether to cry or try and shut out his surroundings and pretend all of this wasn't actually happening. He chose the latter. Closing his eyes Charlie took in deep breaths and sent his thoughts back to all the happy memories he had with Hermione like the time she sprung him from the clinic and he saw how carefree and spirited she really was or the time she sang him to sleep without complaint and he saw how caring and sweet she could be. There was no question why she fit in with his family so much—she was practically a perfect combination of the Weasley children.

Time passed quickly for Charlie, lost in his happy memories; however, time passed slowly for Lucas. He arrived at the hospital just in time to hear Maggie's terrified exclamation and see the curtains seal Hermione away from view. He had sunk to the floor in a fashion very similar to Charlie, anguish heavy in his features. Lucas had begun to view Hermione as a younger sister and did not want to think about losing her after only knowing her for such a short time.

The sudden movement of the pristine and sterile curtain had both men jumping to their feet like they had an audience with the Minister of Magic. Maggie slipped out and stared at them with a small, tired smile on her face.

"She'll be okay," she started and waited a few seconds before continuing to let the two protective friends gather their bearings, "We did lose her pulse for a short time but were able to bring her back using a muggle technique that Hermione taught me called CPR. She is stable but we've put her in a magic induced coma for the next twelve hours to let the severe burns on her back heal. After that we will keep her sedated so she doesn't feel too much pain. You both can see her, but only for a few minutes."

Maggie carefully pulled back the curtain and Charlie and Lucas took in a collective breath. They expected Hermione to look a bit worse for wear, but they didn't expect the figure lying on the bed to look so, so un-Hermione. Everything about the girl in front of them screamed weak, but that was one thing Hermione was not. She was strong and passionate and vivacious. The girl on the bed looked incredibly frail and small. The pillow seemed too large for her head and the bed too large for her petite frame. Hermione was pale and lifeless, even her hair was missing its electric bushiness. To Charlie, it appeared that every trace of the Hermione he knew was no longer present and that shocked him to the core. He shakily extended an arm and gently stroked her cheek almost recoiling in horror at the clamminess of her skin.

"Oh, Hermione." he whispered.

Sensing his friend's imminent breakdown, Lucas placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and guided him away from the injured girl on the hospital bed and ushered Charlie towards the exit, "C'mon Charlie, let's go owl your family." As they exited the hospital Lucas said a somber "Thank you." to Maggie.

Halfway back to the hut, Charlie spoke his first words since he delivered Hermione to the hospital. "What happened to the dragon?" he asked faintly.

"After it attacked Hermione, everyone kind of went into overdrive and subdued the dragon in about five minutes. We put it into a deep magical sleep and tied down the wings with the new magical rope we got from the reserve in Australia. Boss is shipping the ruddy Horntail down to the reserve for the extremely dangerous and temperamental dragons in New Zealand."

"Good. That beast has caused me enough trouble to last a lifetime." Charlie cracked a pathetic smile.

They had reached Charlie's hut and Lucas was quickly gathering the ingredients for a strong cup of tea. "Do you want to owl your family, or should I?"

"God, Mum's going to have a stroke. First me, now Hermione! She'll never forgive me for letting Hermione almost die! And if Mum doesn't kill me, Ron and Harry definitely will!" Charlie dropped heavily into a chair and his complexion whitened dramatically.

Worried for his best mate, Lucas quickly shoved a hot mug of tea into Charlie's hand and led him to the couch. He watched as the sleeping draught took effect and grabbed the sloshing tea cup as Charlie fell into a dreamless sleep. Lucas conjured his patronous and sent it off with a message to the Weasley family. He kicked off his boots and situated himself comfortably in Charlie's overstuffed chair and promptly fell asleep, the events of the day taking over his system.

A loud wooshing noise startled Charlie and Lucas awake the next morning. When they opened their eyes they were greeted by the entire Weasley family huddled in the middle of Charlie's small living room.

"Where is she?! What happened?! You promised me you'd keep her safe!" Charlie shut his eyes at his mother's interrogation.

"I told you this would happen," he said to Lucas. Charlie remained silent so Lucas took it upon himself to explain what exactly occurred yesterday to the distraught clan of redheads.

When he reached the part where Hermione heart stopped beating chaos ensued. "Don't worry! Don't worry! She'll be alright! They used some muggle technique called CR something!"

"CPR," said Harry, "Muggles use it to manually keep people breathing until other means to keep them alive are available."

"Right, well, yeah. She's alive, but she'll be heavily sedated until tomorrow so her burns can heal." Lucas stood up, stretched, checked the time, and walked over to the door, motioning for the family to follow him. "I assume you all want to see her."

The large group trekked to the hospital and they were all recalling the last time they were at the reserve. Unfortunately for the family, the visitors' rules had not changed. Maggie greeted everyone at the front desk. "You know the drill. Two at a time, five minutes each. Who's first?" It was no surprise that Harry and Ron were already halfway to Hermione's side. They both sat down and too one of her hands, each speaking softly to her, their voices full of encouragement and healing thoughts.

"It's like she's petrified all over again," murmured Harry as he sat down next to Ginny while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley took their five minutes.

Before long everyone had wished Hermione well, even if she couldn't hear them, and decided it was time to leave. Arthur had to pry a crying Molly off of Charlie so he was not suffocated by his mother's strong hug. "Keep us updated, son." Charlie only nodded.

Charlie was overwhelmed. Never before had he cared about a person that wasn't of blood relation to him and he had no idea how to cope with her almost death and severe injury. So he did what he could. Charlie sat beside her hospital bed, in a rickety wooden chair, for hours, holding her cool hand in his warm one, willing his health to seep into her. The only time he was away was when Maggie forced him to eat breakfast and take his potion, but even then he returned in five minutes, a turkey sandwich in hand.

Nightfall arrived faster than Charlie anticipated and he was not willing to leave her side, so he took a page out of her own book and transfigured his chair into his favorite plush chair. He scooted himself closer to the bed and grasped her hand once more. He fell asleep with his head resting gently on the bed beside hers, their hair blending to look like embers on a dying fire.

That was how Maggie and Lucas found them the next morning and the pair grinned softly. Lucas transfigured the other chair into a soft couch and the pair settled down to wait. Nearly a half an hour had passed with the two chatting quietly when Charlie woke up with a pain in his neck. He sat up slowly and cracked his neck, hearing a satisfying "pop".

"How long have you two been here?"

"Not long," replied Maggie, "Her burns are healing nicely and I think she's going to wake up soon." Charlie nodded and affixed his attention to Hermione once more.

Another hour passed in relative silence, so it was startling when Charlie heard the sheet rustle and felt a gentle pressure on his hand. He locked his eyes on Hermione's face and smiled brightly when she slowly peeled open her eyes.

"Thank you," she said in a raspy voice. "I'm sorry." she continued.

"No, I'm sorry."

"But I—" He shushed her.

"No but's Hermione. It doesn't matter anymore. The only thing that matters is that you are okay."

Charlie leaned forward and carefully brushed her hair away from her face. Leaning in slowly, he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, holding her hand tightly all the while. "You're okay."


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

Since Hermione's burns were so extensive, she was put on bed rest for two days to ensure that she didn't overwork herself and strain her injuries. Unfortunately for Hermione, that meant two more days stuck on the dreadfully lumpy hospital bed. If Maggie had even the slightest faith that Hermione would actually stay in bed for two days, she would have discharged her as soon as her initial twenty-four hour visit was complete, but alas, everyone knew Hermione would be on her feet as soon as she knew no one was watching her.

Suffice it to say, Hermione was sulking. The first two hours of her healer ordered rest had passed and she already finished the book Maggie fetched her and was now spending her time counting and recounting the number of ceiling tiles and floor tiles. There were sixty-seven rectangular ceiling tiles and one hundred and thirteen square floor tiles. She noted dully that there were three large cracks spanning the width of the ceiling and made a mental reminder to fix them once she was allowed to stand.

She cursed her inability to entertain herself for long periods of time and moaned irritably. Maggie taking Hermione's noise as one of pain bustled over and went to administer a pain potion but Hermione stopped her with a strong look.

"Maggie, I'm bored!" whined Hermione, "Can I have another book? Please! I don't even care what it is, just something!"

"I told you that I only had one book! I warned you to read it slowly. I'm here to heal you, not entertain you." Maggie laughed at Hermione's put out look. The head healer walked out of Hermione's sight when they heard the door open and close. "I hope you have a book, or something to keep Miss. I'm Bored occupied for a few hours." said Maggie good naturedly.

"Oh boy," replied Charlie, a smile on his face, "How long has she been like that?"

"Two hours."

Looking around and seeing that Hermione was the only patient, "Why don't you go take a break and I'll keep her entertained for a while. I'll let you know if something happens and you're needed down here." Charlie looked at his friend expectantly, both of them knowing it was an order.

"If you insist." With a small wave the head healer disappeared into her quarters above the office part of the clinic, that way she was always close in case of an emergency.

Charlie quickly conjured a bouquet of daisies and stepped into Hermione's range of sight. He felt his cheeks tinge pink at the large smile that grew across her face when she noticed the flowers in his hand.

"Oh Charlie, they're beautiful! You didn't have too." she reprimanded weakly.

The look on her face was enough for Charlie to know that even if he didn't have to, that he wanted to. He sat down next to her and rubbed his palms along the dark jeans he wore. Charlie looked up and saw Hermione watching him curiously.

"Charlie, how did you know daisies were my favorite flower?"

He blushed furiously at her question, one hundred percent sure his face was the color of his fiery hair. "I um, well, you see. I kind of overheard you talking to Ginny once that Ron always got you roses, but you hate roses because they're so cliché. I remember you saying how you wished he got you daisies, which were your favorite."

Hermione chose to be please at his thoughtfulness rather than being displeased at his apparent eavesdropping. "That is one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me." She grabbed her wand and placed a stasis charm on the flowers and beamed happily at Charlie. He just grinned bashfully in return.

"So, I hear that the healer is being a bit of an unruly patient, hmm?" he smirked.

Hermione frowned. "How did you keep yourself busy in here for so long?!" her voice was full of incredulity.

"Easy," he returned smartly, "You see, I had this cute healer who spent an hour with me every morning and brought me dinner every evening. She even spent the night with me once or twice." His blue eyes twinkled with mirth at her outraged face.

"I fell asleep one time, Weasley! One time!"

He laughed. "Yes, well I've come to return the favor." Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out a picnic basket. He quickly enlarged it and began pulling out Hermione's favorite meal. They tucked in and let out contented hums at the delicious home cooked meal.

"Charlie Weasley, your mother is a saint." Hermione spoke around the bit of treacle tart in her mouth as she praised the Weasley matriarch. As they sat in silence Hermione fully comprehended that Charlie had called her cute. A bright pink blush forced itself onto her cheeks much to her dismay. She felt giddy inside, a truly girly reaction that she hadn't felt since Ginny informed her of Harry's proposal which was well over a year ago. When Hermione fell back into reality she saw Charlie check his watch and briefly wondered if he had received it for his seventeenth birthday.

"I hate to leave you in such a state of boredom, but I have the breakfast shift tomorrow. Can't have hungry dragons, you know, it's not very pleasant. Anyway, I will see you this time tomorrow to provide you with ample entertainment." He stood up and stretched, reaching his arms high over his head leaving a strip of his taught stomach right at Hermione's eye level. Acting on impulse, he bent over and placed a chaste kiss on her pink cheek. "Sleep well."

Once she heard the hospital door swing shut Hermione squealed in excitement. She hadn't felt like this in a long time and it was wonderful. Blissfully happy, she closed her eyes and drifted off into a very pleasant slumber where a certain red head would make an appearance.

The second day of her hospital imprisonment passed much faster than the previous day knowing that her favorite Weasley was coming to see her. True to his word, Charlie arrived at the same time as the day before and held another bouquet of daisies, this time the picnic basket was its regular size.

"You are too good to me," greeted Hermione when he placed the basket beside her blanket covered legs.

"Lucas sends his well wishes," he said before he forgot, "and sent these flowers on his behalf." She took the offered flowers and placed them on her bedside table next to the others. Charlie noted with glee that she did not put a stasis charm on the new flowers.

They ate dinner and chatted amicably for a while, until Charlie began to get a bit twitchy.

"Are you all right?" she questioned, concerned.

"Fine," he returned absentmindedly.

"You know," she started carefully, "we still need to talk about what happened."

Charlie saw her reason and resigned himself to putting his feelings on display for all to see. "Fine, but not here." he acquiesced, standing up and pulling the blankets off of Hermione. He frowned at her hospital clothing and took off his blue jumper, "Here, put this on."

Hermione looked confused. "What are you doing?"

"I'm springing you." He grinned toothily at her. Once she had his sweater on he scooped her up bridal style and rushed from the hospital before Maggie noticed they were gone. He ran to the hatchling keep and breathed a relieved sigh that it was unoccupied. He sat her down gently on the floor and joined her immediately. Charlie stared at her expectantly.

"Okay, right. I'm so sorry I just left like that, but I was embarrassed. I sort of sprung that on you and I'm sorry." She was rubbish at explaining how she felt and looked down at the floor.

"You really took me by surprise, Hermione, but you weren't the only one. Bill pointed it out to me earlier that day and when I saw you I was still trying to figure it all out. But I have."

"Have what?"

"Figured it all out."

Hermione stared at him like he had sprouted an extra limb. "Hermione, we never really got to have our dance at Ginny's wedding." He said changing the subject.

"Yeah, no thanks to you," she responded, "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Dance with me." He said as he stood up, pulling her up as he went. Hermione was thoroughly baffled at his actions, but decided to go along anyway. He flicked his wand and a fast paced tune began to play. He took her hand and spun her around the room quickly and took delight in her melodic laughter. Another flick had the music slow and he twirled her into his chest and rested his hands on her hips. He felt her press her cheek over his heartbeat, her hands a few inches below.

Charlie looked down and smiled before laying his head gently atop hers. She sighed contentedly, breathing in time with him. Gently he drew his hand up curve of her back and around her warm neck leaving a trail of tantalizing tingles in its wake. She felt his calloused fingers brush along the line of her jaw and come to a halt on her petite chin. He tilted her face up slowly, carefully. Her chest rose and fell, hot breaths increasing as she stared into his deep eyes. He leaned forward slowly and pressed his lips to hers, eyes closing at the sensation.

A few seconds later she responded and their lips danced lovingly for nearly a minute before he tenderly pulled back. His strong arms wrapped around her firmly and she hugged him back equally as strong. Charlie kissed her softly on the head.

"Does that answer your question?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

After Charlie returned Hermione to her bed in the small hospital, he kissed her sweetly on the forehead and again on the lips before assuring her that he would be there in the morning for her release. Once he left and Hermione made sure that Maggie wasn't going to appear and sold her for sneaking out, Hermione let her giddiness take over. In a decidedly un-Hermione like display of emotion, she kicked her feet up and down and squealed with joy. Never in her life had a boy ever done something so romantic, so incredibly sweet, for her. Ron didn't have a romantic bone in his body and, aside from some enthusiastic dancing, all Viktor ever did was stare at her. All the time. The occasional glance while she was studying would have been acceptable, cute even, but the constant observation was unnerving. And creepy.

Happiness was practically gushing from Hermione's vibrant smile. If it wasn't for the lack of an important ring on a certain finger any passing person might think she just got engaged. Oh how she wished she was back at the Burrow and Ginny was only a bed a way, Hermione was desperate for some girl talk.

A sound from above jarred Hermione back to the present and she stiffened. Looking at the time Hermione grimaced in annoyance. Why did Maggie have to make her nightly round tonight? It was only Hermione for Merlin's sake! She quickly jumped under the covers and curled up into her pillow, evening out her breathing with practiced ease. There were many nights throughout her relationship with Ron that found Hermione faking sleep in the presence of her boyfriend.

The tune of the song she and Charlie danced to found its way into Hermione's brain and concentrated on the swirling music notes using them as a lullaby that had her asleep within moments.

"Hermione," said a familiar voice, "It's time to wake up. C'mon, Hermione."

Wanting to stay in the very pleasant dream she was having Hermione rolled over and stuck her head underneath her pillow, holding it tightly, and drifted off again. That is, until she felt someone pulling on the pillow. Hermione held it tighter. The bed dipped by her stomach and someone started prodding her shoulder.

"Wake up, Hermione. You've been asleep long enough." the voice spoke again.

Hermione was not entertained and firmly believed the person the voice belonged to wanted to die. "Ginny," she guessed, "stop it! Just let me sleep!"

The incessant poking stopped and satisfied that she had shut up the voice, faded back into her blissful dream.

Suddenly the cozy warmth shrouding her was yanked away and she shrieked indignantly. She managed to keep hold of the pillow. A deep chuckle reverberated in her skull as a male voice said "That's what you get for calling me Ginny, and this," he said as be lightly drew a soft pattern across her bare midriff, "is for not waking up the first two times I tried." The enticing touch across her tummy turned into furious tickling and Hermione yelped in surprise. She started to flail and came dangerously close to falling onto the floor in a heap before her attacker let up. Hermione hated being tickled; she felt it was an invasion of personal space.

Fully awake and alert, Hermione glared flatly at the owner of the voice. He sat beside her, a wry grin on his face with a warm twinkle in his eye. "Charlie Weasley, you are so lucky I like you too much to kill you."

He laughed and kissed her. "Good morning to you, too, sunshine."

"Now that's a perfectly acceptable way to wake someone up! Why didn't you start with that?!" she asked.

"Because someone decided she wanted to act like a beaver and burrow under a pillow for an hour." Hermione blushed, a guilty smile on her face. "Come on, it's time to get you discharged! Mum's having the whole family 'round for lunch today, Bill and Fleur have an announcement."

The pair summoned Maggie to conduct one last scan on Hermione's injuries. Maggie cast a few spells and applied some burn salve to Hermione's back. "Okay Hermione, you are free to go. Unfortunately I was not able to prevent your burns from scarring so you and Charlie here are going to have matching scars along your backs. You have the rest of the day off but I expect you bright and early tomorrow morning."

With a smile Charlie and Hermione departed and headed to Hermione's hut, their hands swinging lightly between them. Hermione led the way into her home and directed Charlie to sit on the couch while she checked her post.

"We have about thirty minutes before we're expected for lunch." Charlie spoke from behind her.

"Okay, just let me freshen up. I always feel so germy after a long stay in a hospital bed." Charlie nodded in agreement. He sat idly watching the fire for the fifteen minutes it took Hermione to shower and change. He was thinking about the night before and he couldn't believe his luck. She liked him. Him! It was more than he could ever ask for and he was grateful. Charlie always thought that he would never get married, never willing to put a girl he cared about through the grief that came along with dating a dragon tamer. But he knew Hermione was different, that she could handle it. Hell, she had already handled it her first day on the reserve. He was so lucky.

The object of his thoughts appeared in front of him and sat down next to him, closer than she would have prior to last night. He turned to face her. "Hermione," he said realizing something, "I never properly asked you last night. So. Right then. Hermione, would you go out with me?" Despite knowing her feelings, Charlie still felt nervous that he would be turned down.

"I would love to." She kissed him lightly on the cheek. He flushed.

"Oh! It's time to go!"

The new couple floo'd to the Burrow and upon arriving heard a plethora of voices trickling in from the back. Charlie took her hand and looked down at Hermione, "Is this okay?" he asked, making sure she was okay with informing the family about their relationship. She nodded and held his hand tighter.

They stepped away from the fireplace just in time because Bill and Fleur appeared in a rush of green flame. Bill noticed their entwined hands first and grinned knowingly, "Finally." He hugged both of them and took Fleur's petite hand. "We'll be out in a minute." Not waiting for a reaction, the eldest Weasley son began to converse in whispered tones with his wife.

Hermione and Charlie braced themselves for the onslaught of reactions from the family. The descended the stairs and were almost to the long table when suddenly it seemed like every member of the family noticed their hands. Much to their disbelief, nearly everyone copied Bill's sentiment. Apparently waiting for the two of them to realize their feelings had become a sort of game for the large group of redheads.

Luckily for the overwhelmed couple, Bill and Fleur chose that time to enter the backyard. "Everyone, could you all sit down." He wanted to keep his family in wait, though most everyone suspected the nature of their announcement. Bill looked around and his eyes landed on Charlie, who nodded silently and gave a covert thumbs-up. "As you all probably expect, Fleur and I are having a baby! AND," he continued loudly, pushing through the loud chatter, "we asked Charlie to be the godfather and he has accepted. Now," Bill and Fleur directed their gazes to Hermione, "We have something we'd like to ask you. Hermione, would you be the godmother."

Hermione froze in shock for a moment before sputtering, "M-me?! Why me?!" The two eldest Weasley brothers looked at each other and burst out in laughter. At the family's confusion, Charlie elaborated.

"That's exactly how I reacted!"

"Hermione, we want you to be the godmother because you're kind, caring, and excellent with kids. You're responsible and are a great role model. And we know you'll keep Charlie in line so we don't have to worry about my brother doing something reckless, like getting himself killed."

"Yes, 'ermione, I know zat you vill take great care of our lettle one." Fleur added.

"Now, let's try this again. Hermione, will you be the godmother?"

"Of course, I'd love too!"

Once that was settled, every one stood up in a wave to congratulate the new family. Hermione and Charlie decided to hand back until Mrs. Weasley collected herself. Harry and Ginny had the same idea.

The Potters walked up and paused in front of Charlie and Hermione, both with a slightly frightening conspiratorial glint in their eyes.

"Welcome to the club!" beamed Ginny.

Harry laughed heartily at the confused yet wary look on his best friend's face.

"Why, the World's Greatest Godparent's Club of course!"

"We even have shirts!" added Ginny happily.

Both Charlie and Hermione tried to find even the smallest hint of sarcasm in her statement, but came up empty. They looked at each other and wondered just what, exactly, they had gotten themselves into.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

The next few days passed normally for Charlie and Hermione, something neither one of them had experienced in a long while. Hermione was back to her daily work as a healer and Charlie was back to his regular tasks as a dragon tamer. Her burns were nearly fully healed and he was on the smallest dose of the potion; both would be back to the picture of health by the end of the week, despite the scars on their backs.

Friday afternoon arrived fairly quickly and Hermione was surprised to find Charlie in the hatchling keep during her lunch break. She visited the growing dragon everyday and they had formed a strong bond.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to ask my beautiful girlfriend on a date tonight. What do you say?"

"Yes," she grinned. "What are we doing?" asked Hermione, rather curious about Charlie's idea for a first date.

"I know it's not much but I was thinking we could go to the Witches Brew for a few drinks and some dancing."

Contrary to popular belief, Hermione actually enjoyed going to the pub for drinks on a Friday night. The food was usually always good and the people watching was great. Harry and Hermione made a habit of going to muggle bars once or twice a month after the war ended to decompress away from the prying eyes of the Wizarding World.

She smiled. "It sounds wonderful."

He checked the time and realized he was late for his rotation and rushed off, giving her a hurried goodbye and a promise to meet her later. Hermione turned her attention to the Chinese Fireball and reached down to scratch her scaly belly. She always imagined the skin of the dragon to be cool to the touch but it never was, it always held a comforting warmth. She supposed its ability to breath fire had something to do with it. Firecracker breathed hot steam onto Hermione's hand and it tickled. The temperature reminded Hermione of steam curling off of a mug of tea.

"Pretty soon you'll be out of here, Firecracker. You'll get to move into your very own enclosure and you can fly and breathe all the fire you want." Apparently this particular hatchling had a penchant for singeing anyone who wasn't Hermione. That alone caused the talented healer to develop a soft spot for the reptilian creature. Sooner than she wished her lunch break ended.

As Hermione reached to grab the doorknob to the clinic she stepped back in surprise when it opened. She was even more surprised to see Lucas walk out with a faint pink tinge to his normally tan skin. Hermione raised an eyebrow when he noticed her standing there.

"Hi Hermione," he said innocently.

"Hi Lucas," she said wryly, "what brings you to my hospital?"

"I, uh, had a burn. On my arm. Needed some burn salve, I didn't have any in my first aid kit. Well, I need to get back to work, so, see you!" He hurried away like a dragon was after him.

"Burn my arse," muttered Hermione. She chose to put that in the back of her mind and confront him about it later. Walking up to the front desk Hermione found Maggie distractedly flipping through files. "I'm going down to lab to whip up some more burn salve; we appear to be going through more than usual." There was an air of suspicion in her tone. Maggie nodded.

Hermione spent the remaining four hours of her shift in the spacious potions lab brewing a variety of potions. She made plenty of burn salve, pepper-up potions, and the last batch of Charlie's special potion. Meticulously she portioned each potion into a vial, stoppered it, and labeled it. Deciding she had done enough work for the day Hermione decided to clock out a half an hour early.

Once back at her hut, she drew up a steaming bubble bath and grabbed her favorite bath time read. She set up a few extra locking charms on her door just to be safe before disrobing and slipping into the hot water. The scorching bath did wonders on her back which was tender from leaning over boiling cauldrons for nearly four hours. She hummed happily. Hermione soaked for a while longer and then proceeded to wash herself. Standing in the now tepid water she wrapped a large, fluffy towel around herself and padded to her bedroom.

In only her undergarments she stood in front of her modest wardrobe contemplating what to wear. She eventually decided, after copious outfit changes, on dark skinny jeans paired with a sparkly, flowing merlot colored shirt and a pair of modest nude heels. Hermione carefully applied a small amount of make-up and massaged some SleekEasy through her brown hair. Just as she cast a cushioning charm on her heels a knock sounded at the door.

Opening the door, Hermione was greeted by yet another bouquet of daisies, except this time they were a butter yellow color. "Thank you, they're beautiful."

As she took the flowers from him, Charlie let his gaze roam across her body, "So are you," he said without thinking. She blushed bright red.

"Let me just put these in a vase." The stasis charm she put on these flowers did not go unnoticed like she thought. She returned and threaded her fingers with his. "Shall we?" The couple set off on the short walk from the reserve to the small village above it. Along the way they conversed lightly about their days.

As they approached the Witches Brew Hermione was reminded of a combination of the Leaky Cauldron and the Three Broomsticks. Charlie held open the door for her and she led the way into the dimly lit pub. It was swimming with locals so he grasped her hand once more and they found two seats a ways away from the dance floor. As soon as they had sat down a busty server appeared before them.

"What'll it be?" she said in a nasally voice.

"I'll have a Firewhiskey," replied Charlie who turned to look at Hermione.

"The same please," she said to her date's obvious shock.

Once their drinks were in front of them and Charlie watched her gulp down a sip without even a flinch at the intense burn he knew was there. He was impressed. "Well Miss. Granger, I did not expect you to be the Firewhiskey type."

Her caramel eyes were warm and twinkling. "Not many people do." She threw back the rest of her whiskey and his eyes widened. Only Harry and Ginny knew just how well she could hold her liquor. He laughed. Charlie found that he really liked this loosened up Hermione.

"I daresay Hermione, a few more of these and you'll have drunk me under the table." Charlie could hold his alcohol pretty well, but he was slowly starting to feel his inhibitions disappear. Unbeknownst to him, Hermione was feeling just the same. He ordered another round anyway.

"Cheers!" Charlie spoke with conviction, "To our good health!" Hermione sucked down her fourth drink quickly and stood up suddenly.

"I love this song!" She yanked her date up excitedly, "Dance with me!"

Hermione led Charlie onto the dance floor and to his shock, pressed herself close to him. He looked down at her incredulous, "Hermione?" he hesitated. She just smiled and placed his hands safely on her waist while she twined her arms around his neck. He breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted to take things slow, do this right. They began to dance and he realized how well she fit with him.

An hour had passed and Hermione was out of breath, her face flushed and her eyes merry. Together they decided to take a break. Hermione headed to the bar to get a glass of water while Charlie quickly rushed to the loo. She seated herself at the bar and sipped her cool drink thinking about how much fun she was having. It had been such a long time since she last let loose and had a carefree night out. Being there with Charlie made it even better.

Lost in her happy thoughts, Hermione did not notice the burly man who entered the bar. His beady eyes scanned the pub and noticing that she was alone, set their sights on her. A putrid smell made her scrunch up her nose in disgust and the sight of a man twice her age leering over her two stools away made her entire body flinch in revulsion. Hermione looked around for Charlie and frowned when she couldn't find him. She stiffened and reached subtly for her wand when the stranger sidled up to her.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Even his voice was unsanitary.

"No, thank you," she said brusquely. He frowned and leaned closer.

"Are you sure? A pretty girl like you must want something a little stronger than water." Hermione was about to raise her wand and stun the unsavory bloke but a strong hand gripped his shoulder and hauled him away from her. It was Charlie and he was not happy.

Charlie pulled the offending man close and whispered furiously, "Excuse me but that is _my_ girlfriend you were just undressing with your eyes and I do not appreciate it. I'll have you know that I am a dragon tamer and I know of a few hungry dragons that might like a midnight snack if you don't leave her alone." The man in his grasp paled, gulped, and nodded. Charlie pushed him away.

"Come on, Hermione. Let's go." She was happy to get away from that surly man. He wrapped an arm around her and they quickly made their way back to the reserve. Charlie muttered angrily the entire way back but Hermione could only catch phrases such as "Bloody bastard" and "She's _my_ girl" and felt both protected and even more attracted to him.

The instant the couple entered Hermione's hut Charlie kicked the door shut, swung Hermione around and pressed her against the door. His mouth was on hers before she could question his actions. She responded eagerly, tangling her hands in his hair. For the moment Charlie threw all thoughts of taking it slow to the wind. She needed to know that she was _his_.

"Charlie," she said between kisses, "I never pegged you as the jealous type."

"Yeah? Well, I've never had a reason to be jealous before."


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

When Hermione walked into work the next day she was greeted by a new face sitting behind the desk. It was a woman in her sixties with graying hair and a soft countenance. Her eyes looked like they had seen a lot.

"Hello, I'm Hermione," she introduced herself as she glanced around looking for Maggie.

"Hi dear, my name is Agatha."

Hermione was about to ask who, exactly, she was when Maggie bounced down the stairs dressed in a pale green sundress. "Oh good, you're here! This is Agatha; she used to be the main healer on the reserve when I first started. She just returned from visiting her family in the States. Since the weekend shift isn't very taxing she's offered to take it over so both of us can have some time off." Maggie spoke incredibly fast. Her boss looked thrilled at the thought of two full days off.

"That's very kind of you Agatha, thank you."

Maggie gripped Hermione's hand tightly and pulled her out the door, calling a loud goodbye to Agatha as she went. When the girls were outside Maggie looked Hermione in the eye. "Unless you are sick or injured I do not want to see you in or even around this building for the next forty eight hours. Got it?" Hermione laughed at her boss's insistence. "Aggie is perfectly capable of dealing with the few patients we get over the weekend."

"Okay! I've got it," she rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Where are you off to?" she gestured to the green dress.

"I'm going out with my family today." Maggie spoke with genuine glee in her voice at the thought of visiting her family. "It's been almost three months since I've seen my parents." Hermione stiffened at her words, having gone much, much longer without seeing her parents, but shook it off as quickly as it came. Now was not the time to dwell on such things. The girls embraced and went their separate ways. Before they were too far apart Maggie turned and yelled to Hermione "Do you want to go to the Witches Brew tomorrow night?" Hermione shouted positively and they continued in their different directions.

Hermione returned to her hut and changed out of her healer robes. She pulled on her favorite pair of jeans and an old Gryffindor t-shirt. On her knees, she dug around the bottom of her wardrobe searching for her trainers and found them in the way back under a pile of old jumpers. She slipped them on, pocketed her wand, and exited her hut. The air smelt wonderful, still warm from summer but the familiar autumn scent was beginning to permeate the breeze. Her face was turned up towards the sun and she basked in the heat it provided as she meandered through the reserve.

She was glad that she decided to make the move to Romania. She finally felt like she was home even if she was surrounded by a bunch of dragons.

Before she knew it she was ascending the familiar steps to her favorite place on the reserve. Since it was a Saturday and earlier than she normally visited she was unsurprised to see another person in the keep. It was Lucas. He was immersed in his observation of the Norwegian Ridgeback and did not notice her arrival. She decided to use that to her advantage and snuck up behind him. She leaned close to his ear and said "Care to tell me why you were really at the clinic yesterday?"

He stiffened and then slouched. "Nothing gets past you, does it?" he spoke with a mixture of annoyance and awe.

She snickered. "Nope!"

Lucas stayed facing the dragon, choosing to speak directly to a creature rather than the human beside him. An embarrassed color flooded up his neck and face. "I did have a burn on my arm," he started defensively, "but I suppose I didn't need a professional to heal it… IjustwantedtoseeMaggie." He spoke the last part so quick and so quiet that Hermione found herself leaning forward trying to understand his garbled speech.

"Come again?" She placed a comforting hand on his back. It seemed that dragon tamers—at least the ones she knew—were not ones to openly talk about emotions.

"I like her, okay! I like her. A lot. But she only sees me as another one of the guys." His voice held so much dejection it made Hermione's sensitive heart hurt for him.

She moved the hand that was resting on his back up to his shoulder and she spun him around. His face looked how his voice sounded and she wrapped him up in a friendly hug. "Oh, Lucas." she exhaled rather loudly. It was like Harry and Ginny all over again. "I have a feeling she does see you as more than one of the guys," she reassured softly, "and tomorrow night we're all going to go to the pub and you are going to ask her to dance. Okay?" she asked, waiting for an answer.

"Okay," he repeated. "I'm really glad to have met you, Hermione." He paused before continuing. "You, you're like the little sister I never had."

She smiled and hugged him again. "Good, because I started thinking of you as another brother when you gave me guy advice a few weeks ago." They grinned at each other and Lucas reached over and pulled on one of her curls.

"And I see my advice worked," he smirked knowingly.

"Yeah, and mine will to."

Unbeknownst to the affectionate pair, Charlie was having a rough day. Ron had sent him an annoying letter and a dragon tried to set him on fire. Numerous times. Someone had told him Hermione was in the hatchling keep, so that's where he headed as soon as he finished work. He reached the entrance just in time to see Hermione murmur Lucas' name softly, hug him, and whisper into his ear. Charlie's temper spiked and he stayed until Lucas' pause in conversation before he left, needing to set something of his own on fire.

Charlie had simmered down considerably by the time Hermione knocked on his door late that night. He had refrained from burning anything but still dished out some punches on a throw pillow for good measure. Charlie had also convinced himself that he overreacted and chalked it up to his bad day.

Most of his fears were washed away the moment he opened the door and Hermione threw herself into his arms. He loved that even her just being in the same room as he made him feel better. He squeezed her tightly to him, relishing in her presence.

Their already close relationship hadn't changed much; it just included more affectionate touches, hugs, and kisses.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I missed you," she responded plainly. And she had. She had grown used to seeing him once or twice a day and felt an emptiness in her chest when he didn't stop by.

Placing a kiss on the top of her head, "I missed you, too." They moved out of the entryway and sat close together on the couch. She leaned heavily on him.

"Do you want to come to the Witches Brew with Maggie, Lucas, and I tomorrow night?" He froze briefly, thoughts of earlier in the day flashing back, but he pushed them away.

"I'd love to." He smiled when she snuggled closer to him.

"I have weekends off now," she said making conversation.

"Really? That's excellent." He ended the word with a yawn taking over his tired body. "Sorry, I had a long day."

"What happened?" She looked up at him, her brown eyes full of concern at his tone.

"One of our Opaleyes is nesting and when I attempted to run diagnostics on her eggs she tried to set me on fire. Several times." She sniggered at his contrite expression.

"Well I'm glad you're okay," she said patting his chest.

After another Sunday brunch was finished the couple returned to the sanctity of the dragon reserve. "I swear if another one of my brothers tells me not to hurt you I am going to snap," muttered Charlie, thoroughly annoyed. The last thing on his mind was hurting Hermione.

They were almost to her door when Miles, one of Charlie's friends, called over to him. "The Opaleye is turning on her eggs! We need to go!" The panicked look that took over her boyfriend's features told Hermione this was serious.

She kissed him and told him to go. "If you're late just meet us at the pub! Be safe!" He nodded and took off running. Hermione entered her home and quickly changed into something a little more lively. She passed an hour reading a novel until Maggie came to fetch her.

"I invited Charlie and Lucas, I hope that's okay." Hermione smirked in satisfaction when the other healer's face brightened at that. A couple seconds later Lucas joined them.

"Charlie told me to tell you he just needed to shower and change. He'll meet us up there." The trio set off to a night full of drinking, flirting, and dancing.

The group had been drinking and talking enthusiastically for almost fifteen minutes when Maggie excused herself to freshen up. Hermione took this time to give Lucas a quick pep talk. She leaned forward and stared him in the eye. "You can do this," she told him, "just say 'You look really pretty tonight. Would you like to dance with me?' It's not like you're asking to marry her or anything!" The shy keeper still looked nervous. "Here, try it on me." She commanded at the same time Charlie entered the pub.

The dragon had tried to set him on fire. Again. It was really beginning to annoy him. His eyebrows raised as Charlie took in the way Hermione and Lucas were sitting.

Lucas took a breath and pretended he was speaking to Maggie, "You look really beautiful tonight. Would you like to dance with me?" Hermione smiled widely in encouragement, but Charlie, a few feet behind her, took it entirely wrong. Already angry he let his Weasley temper take over his system.

"What is going on?" he snarled, "First yesterday in the hatchling keep and now this?! Hermione, my best friend?" Charlie was too livid to listen to their hurried explanations. "Save it." He turned and stormed away.

Maggie chose that time to return and frowned at the pale faced Lucas and teary eyed Hermione. "Okay, what did I miss?" Lucas rapidly explained the entire situation, even going as far as telling her his feelings. First, she looked at Lucas, "I thought you'd never say it." They smiled at each other. Then, she turned to Hermione,

"That bastard. He never did know how to shut up and listen."

**A/N **

**Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all the reviews! I never expected such a great response. I just wanted to let you all know that I recently started back up at school and work again so my updates will be a bit farther apart. I'm not abandoning this fic and I have the rest of the story planned, its just a matter of finding time to write. Thank you all again!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

Almost a full week had passed with no communication between Charlie and Hermione. When they encountered the other on the reserve Charlie instantly averted his eyes and changed direction without giving her the chance to even mutter a greeting. Hermione was fed up and so was everyone else. Since Charlie refused to be within a few feet of Lucas, the work schedules had to be altered, throwing everything else off. The head of the Romanian reserve even threatened to suspend Charlie until he got his act together. Needless to say, tensions were running high across all aspects of the dragon reserve.

By Wednesday Maggie had to kick Hermione out of the hospital because she was having drastic mood swings and couldn't be trusted to be civil with patients. One minute her anger would take over and she would become incredibly short and curt then the next she would become overly sensitive and teary eyed. It was like Hermione was pregnant and Maggie was at her wits end with her friend and out of ways to cheer her up.

Miles and Justin, friends of Lucas and Charlie, were having an equally tough time. The two dragon tamers found themselves having to treat their quarreling friends like the dragons. The two men were constantly watching Charlie and Lucas to make sure they stayed apart and when they were together, Miles and Justin had to diffuse fights as quickly as they arose. Yelling matches occurred frequently because Lucas would not drop the issue; he refused to be the cause of Charlie and Hermione's breakup.

Hermione held an intense fear that Charlie would get hurt and try to heal himself—or worse, go unhealed—just to avoid talking to her. She wouldn't put it past the hot tempered Weasley. Much to her sadness he was beginning to remind her of Ron. That relationship ended over distrust and misunderstandings and Hermione refused to go through that again.

Night had fallen two hours ago and her tea had long grown cold. Hermione was dressed in a pair of leggings and a frumpy old sweater, stained and tattered. She was hunched over a piece of parchment, nibbling on her quill as she tried to come up with an excuse to skip Sunday brunch that Molly, Ginny, and Harry would all believe. Being sick was out of the question since she was a healer and Hermione needed to make sure whatever she said Charlie could easily play along with if he decided to go to brunch. The even bigger issue was if Charlie owled his own excuse and caused even more problems.

She crumpled her parchment angrily and threw it into the fire. She let out an irritated screech and forcefully pulled her hair out of her face and wrangled it into a messy bun atop her head. Hermione was sick of this situation and wished she knew how to make Charlie see reason. She knew from experience that a scorned Weasley would be hard pressed to see understanding once they set their beliefs. It was bloody annoying, really.

Minutes from giving in and going to bed a loud group of knocks sounded on her door. She wondered who it could be at that hour, inwardly hoping it was Charlie. Muttering a few obscenities under her breath Hermione pried herself off her couch and shuffled to the door. Flinging it wide open she was greeted by a haggard looking pair. Miles and Justin looked decidedly worse for wear.

"Can I help you?"

"Look, Hermione we know you and Charlie aren't talking right now but the Opaleye went crazy today and a good portion of our team got hit. Maggie is swamped at the clinic and we need your help. Charlie got a nasty burn on his arm but refused to go to the clinic because he didn't want to see you. Seriously, he can be such an idiot. We're here because we know he couldn't heal it on his own and he wasn't at dinner. We knocked on his door but he didn't answer. We're a bit worried. At this point, you're the only person that actually has a chance at helping him. Can you please go check on him?"

Hermione was already in motion, her fear unfolding before her very eyes. Shoving her feet into her trainers she grabbed her wand and her emergency kit and flew out the door before Miles had finished talking, running down the row of huts until she reached Charlie's. Deciding to give him one last chance she banged loudly on the door. She waited a whole two minutes before opening the door herself and rushing in. Her heart was pounding in her chest and it only increased when she saw Charlie.

The normally strong man was curled up in a ball on the couch, clutching his arm protectively. The burn was on display and it was quite severe. She figured it was a high end third degree. He moaned feebly in pain.

Hermione couldn't decide between being annoyed at his idiocy or sympathetic at his obvious pain. "Are all Weasley men such blithering idiots?" she complained quietly to herself.

Waving her wand Hermione cast a diagnostic spell over the tall man and grimaced. His arm was starting to get infected and she realized he was nearly delirious with pain. She carefully turned him onto his back, immobilized him with a modified petrificus totalus, and sent an "enervate" straight at his chest with her right hand while she held a pain relief potion in her left; pouring it down his throat the instant he came to. Satisfied that he was conscious and no longer able to feel the pain of his stupidity, she got to work.

She gave him an antibiotic potion and sat back to wait the five minutes it needed to remove the infection. Hermione stared at him. "Charlie Weasley, what am I going to do with you?" Having no confidence that he was going to answer she turned back to his wound. Her frown deepened considerably. The burn paste worked best when the injury was fresh and this one has been festering for a few hours. It was going to take all night applications of the medicine to get him healthy again. She steeled herself and as gently as she could Hermione slathered on a heavy layer of medication.

Hermione turned her sights to Charlie's face, no longer contorted in pain. "Because you were too stubborn to go to the hospital, we're going to be here all night applying this salve every hour. So while I have you here, I'm going to explain. And you are going to listen." He seemed to shrink back at her harsh glare and even harsher tone. She was tired of his attitude and meant business.

"Let's start with what you think you saw the first time, shall we? I can assure you that whatever you were thinking was wrong. I was giving Lucas girl advice. Because he likes Maggie." His blue eyes widened and his face went slack. She could guess what was going through his mind. "That's right, he likes Maggie. Not me. And I think of him as a brother, like I do Harry." Hermione paused to let that information sink in before continuing. "And your actions at the bar? Completely uncalled for and irrational. If you would have just listened instead of storming off you might have realized that I _told_ Lucas to say that to me. That he was practicing asking _Maggie _to dance. Not me. But no, you had to go and be a prat about it. Honestly." Hermione was fuming.

She was pleased to note that Charlie resembled a guilty puppy. By letting his emotions get the best of him Charlie ruined a perfectly good night and a perfectly good week. She pulled over his plush chair and sat down heavily; rubbing her temples as she was starting to feel the beginnings of a migraine.

He cleared his throat and her eyes shot up to lock on his. Charlie realized that he was unable to move and looked at her imploringly. She shook her head no. His voice was hoarse when he spoke, "Right then. Hermione, you are completely right. I am an idiot. I'm hot tempered and quick to make conclusions. You're right and I should have listened. For what it's worth, I've been a wreck without you this week. And I know I'm a stubborn prat and I promise to work on that. Hermione, I'm just really, really sorry. Can you forgive me?"

She was blown away by the sheer sincerity in his apology and the ease of which he gave it, a trait he definitely received from his father. Hermione had never experienced such a heartfelt apology before from anyone. She found it extremely endearing.

"Yes, I forgive you."

Their first fight resolved, Hermione and Charlie smiled genuinely for the first time all week. They gazed at one another warmly, happy to be in the other's presence once more.

"I missed you," she spoke softly, breaking the silence.

"I missed you, too," he responded in kind. Together they sat in content calm for only a few moments before Charlie asked a question, "Hermione, can you take this spell off of me? I really want to hug you right now."

Her heart swooned at his honest statement. "I would love to, but because you stupidly waited to treat your burn I can't run the risk of you moving it for another few hours. I can, however, do this."

Hermione expertly expanded the small couch so two could fit comfortably and carefully crawled over the immobile Charlie. She settled in beside him, wiggling her way under his arm to lie on his chest. She pushed herself up and kissed him lovingly on the lips. "Is this okay?"

"This is perfect."

**A/N:**

**Hi all, I just wanted to let you know that this was my last pre-written chapter. I'll try my best to update as soon as possible, but three English classes require quite a bit of work, so please bear with me. Thank you for reading!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to the lovely JK Rowling.**

Finally for Hermione and Charlie almost three months had passed in a content romance. There had been no more large blowouts and no more near death experiences. Their relationship was flowing smoothly like the jets of flame the ever growing Firecracker loved to shoot.

It was a sunny Friday morning and Hermione was happily filling out paperwork. An odd thought, yes, but the clinic had been terribly slow the past week and the minor broken arm that had come in that morning was a welcomed reprieve from the ten empty beds staring at her tauntingly for the past few days. She lazily blew some loose pieces of hair out of her face as she signed her name with a small flourish. A quick glance at the time left her exhaling once more, this time in annoyance. Those forms had taken up a whole fifteen minutes. Hermione grimaced as she realized she still had another twenty minutes until Maggie returned from her lunch break. Now she was bored and alone. It was a devastating combination.

Hermione stood up and stretched her back before snatching up her wand and sending the usual array of cleaning and sterilizing spells around the clinic. For the third time. She was getting restless and had left her latest novel on the table in Charlie's hut. In the midst of immense boredom the young healer turned around and made her way towards the potions cabinet. Her hair tied back and sleeves pushed up, Hermione lost herself in organizing and relabeling every single bottle in the large pantry style cabinet. The resemblance to Severus Snape was uncanny and it was no surprise that she finished just as Maggie returned.

Before either woman could utter a greeting the door slammed open and two eager dragon keepers bounced in coming to a halt in front of Hermione and Maggie. The girls looked on with raised eyebrows as their boyfriends rocked back and forth on the balls of their feet in excitement.

Hermione and Maggie exchanged a wry glance.

"Is it time for Hermione's lunch break yet?" Charlie's eyes twinkled hopefully.

"It is." Maggie responded carefully. The two boys cheered and each grabbed one of Hermione's arms.

"We'll be back in an hour!" shouted Lucas.

The two keepers practically dragged Hermione across the reserve to the hatchling keep, skillfully ignoring her protests and making sure she stayed upright at their furious pace.

"I was coming here anyway, why did we have to run?"

"Because!" smiled Charlie.

"Today's the day!" Lucas' speech was seamlessly connected to her boyfriend's. Her heart lowered as she realized how much like Fred and George they were acting.

"What's happening today?" Hermione wondered if she had forgotten something important.

Charlie took her hand and squeezed it softly, "Today is the day Firecracker moves into her own enclosure. We all thought you'd like to be here to see. We even managed to get the boss to move it back an hour, just for you." Her jaw hung open at their sweet thoughtfulness. She engulfed both of them in a warm embrace.

"Thank you." Her words dripped sincerity.

"Right then," said Lucas, "let's do this!"

Hermione had never seen a dragon transferred successfully before and felt a twinge of fear at the prospect of this going south. Her worry began to escalate as horribly gruesome scenes flew through her mind like a movie. The mental film strip was cut short as the head keeper of the reserve tapped her on the shoulder. Hermione was confused.

"Miss. Granger, I hear that you have a special bond with this dragon, yeah?" She nodded and he carried on his speech, "We'll I'd like for you to participate in this transfer, if you're willing of course."

Hermione eyes widened in joy and she said an emphatic "Yes!"

He spoke in a gruff, commanding voice not unlike that of Kingsley, "Excellent! What I want you to do is stay in sight of Firecracker the entire time. Talk to her, keep her calm. We're going to constrict her movement since she's still a bit small so you shouldn't have to worry about her escaping and burning down the reserve." His attempted humor made her smile.

Already knowing she would accept, Charlie had acquired her dragon hide boots and gloves as well as her own set of keeper attire. There was a pair of fitted dragon hide breeches and a matching vest. Not wanting to hold up the process any more than she already had, Hermione dashed away to the loo and changed. Charlie met her as she exited the room and she could feel his piercing blue eyes raking up and down her body. He leant down and whispered in her hear, his warm breath tickling the hair on her neck.

"I think I'm going to have you assist me in the field more often."

Her cheeks flushed the color of bubblegum and he kissed her affectionately.

As they rounded the corner and stood in front of Firecracker's too small space in the keep, Hermione smiled softly. The Chinese Fireball had almost quadrupled in size since she had first hatched and she was no longer sneezing fire. With a nod from the keepers, Hermione started speaking.

"Hi, Firecracker, are you ready to move?" In sync the six dragon tamers shot a spell at the dragon that briefly restricted her flying abilities. The spell was perfectly safe and was not harmful to the dragon in any way, but Hermione still felt for the dragon as a look of fear flitted across the dragons face. "It's okay, sweetie. It'll be over soon."

The group began to slowly maneuver Firecracker out of her cage and into the main reserve, taking care not to spook her. Hermione spoke to her the entire time, never once drawing her wand. She found it a bit difficult to engage in conversation with the dragon with all these ears around, but she made due with trivial observations. Hermione was used to sharing her feelings and thoughts with the oddly attentive beast.

The procession lasted nearly ten minutes as the group travelled slowly to keep the dragon calm. Wide smiles plastered themselves onto the faces of Hermione, Charlie, and Lucas the entire walk. Finally they reached an enclosure far on the eastern edge of the reserve.

Hermione stepped away as they guided Firecracker into her new home. Her brown eyes watered as they removed the binding spell and magically sealed the enclosure. Firecracker looked so happy to be in such a large space with plenty of room to fly and shoot fire whenever and wherever she pleased. Charlie noticed her glistening eyes and quickly wrapped her up in a tight hug.

"What's wrong?" he gently asked.

"Will I still be able to talk to her every day?" she responded meekly. Hermione cherished the bond she held with that particular dragon and relished the hour spent with her each day.

"Of course," he reassured, "I had this enclosure modified for just that. On the right side of the enclosure there are a few feet of the barrier that is keyed to your magical signature. When you put your wand to it you'll be able to talk to her and reach in and touch her like you used to. This area is relatively secluded so you won't have to worry about people listening in, either."

Hermione launched herself at him and kissed him passionately. She squeezed him tightly. "Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me." He flushed and she kissed him again.

"I hate to break up this lovely display," interrupted Lucas, "but your lunch break is almost up and we all know how Maggie is with punctuality." Hermione nodded. She turned around and thanked the head of the reserve profusely before departing quickly, Lucas and Charlie flanking her.

That night as Hermione and Charlie cuddled together in her hut after a heated "thank you" snog a thought popped into Hermione's head.

"Did you hear that Ginny and Harry are finally adopting Teddy?"

"It's about time, he's been living with them since they got back from the honeymoon." he remarked. "What about 'Dromeda?"

"Apparently she's watching him Saturday night's so that Harry and Gin can have a date night."

He made a soft noise in acknowledgement and began tracing patterns lightly on Hermione's stomach. A loud yawn permeated the quiet hut and Hermione soon fell victim to a serene slumber.

Late the next morning, wrapped up in Charlie's arms, Hermione woke to a frazzled voice calling her name. Groggily she reasoned that Ginny's head was in her fireplace. She perked up much faster after that.

"Gin? What's the matter?" Hermione stifled a yawn.

"Can you please watch Teddy tonight? The Ministry is having a dinner tonight and Andromeda has the flu, Bill and Fleur are in France visiting her parents, and George is Ireland setting up a new store with Lee. Everyone else is going to the dinner." Through the embers of the fire Hermione could see pleading in Ginny's eyes.

"Of course, when do you need us?"

"Is an hour too early?" Ginny hedged.

"Not at all, no go finish getting ready." After a gracious "thank you" Ginny disappeared from the flames.

Hermione heard Charlie mutter something incoherent, sounding confused. She sat down and kissed him sweetly, effectively waking him up.

"It looks like we get to practice being godparents today!"


End file.
